Imagine if you invest some money into what becomes a 9 billion dollar valuation company. That valuation is before they've really gone to mass market with their product.

If their product had worked, after a few years the return on investment could have been substantial. It would have been significant loss pulling money out before release to mass market.

George Shultz is 98 years old. It's not like you can take your money to the grave. I would like to imagine he was doing all this for his family. I would also like to imagine that if you have a 9 billion dollar valuation company, and you bring together the right talent, Holmes could have somehow pulled off at least some value added breakthrough.

The real issue was when they started to lie and put people's safety at risk. But theranos had significant social proof. Whatever fraud or risks could have been brushed off as non systemic