The Theranos Startup Model is just the capitalist equivalent of SSFP: Instead of making useless shoes, they make useless software or fake hardware. Instead of meeting state quotas, they hit VC funding goals. Instead of the government propping them up, investors keep them afloat.

2. Theranos as a “Startup Shoe Factory”

Theranos is the perfect capitalist version of the Soviet Shoe Factory:

Soviet Model == Theranos Model (Capitalist Equivalent) Shoe factories produced small sizes to meet quotas. Theranos faked blood test results to meet investor expectations. Factories cut material costs and quality to meet output goals. Theranos lied about its technology because real innovation was too slow. Central planners rewarded metrics over reality. VC investors rewarded hype over real products. Factories looked productive on paper, even if they made useless products. Theranos looked like a billion-dollar startup, even though it had no working product. The economy was distorted by planned quotas. The startup world is distorted by fake valuations and exit-driven funding.