Elizabeth Holmes makes her debut on the Billionaires list as the youngest self-made woman billionaire. She dropped out her sophomore year of Stanford University to found Palo Alto, Calif.-based blood testing company Theranos in 2003 with money she saved for college. With a painless prick, her labs can quickly test a drop of blood at a fraction of the price of commercial labs which need more than one vial. Theranos has raised $400 million from venture capitalists, valuing the company at $9 billion, and Holmes’ 50% stake at $4.5 billion. She has assembled a stellar board that includes elder statesmen George Shultz and Henry Kissinger. In 2013, Walgreens, the largest U.S. retail pharmacy chain, with more than 8,100 stores, announced plans to roll out Theranos Wellness Centers inside its pharmacies.
What i take away from this is that she saw the problem in her own life because she lost her uncle due to cancer that was found to late. When she had the idea of making a quick and easy blood test that was basically just a pin prick instead of a full vile of blood, she had the thought of making it quick easy and efficient for all. She saw a personal problem in her life and wanted to make peoples lives easier so she took her college savings and went full force into her business venture.
I think the work of Ms. Holmes is extraordinary. Many may not know, but Palo Alto is only about a 35 minute drive from San Francisco. San Francisco has one of the highest HIV populations in the country. Many of those are low income individuals who may not be able to afford blood testing. Holmes provided an organization that will make it more affordable for individuals in her area to become aware of their health which can help prevent more widespread infection.