U.S. Immigration Perspective on U.S. Business Immigration: Forbes once compiled a list of the 50 richest self-made women in the United States. Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the American blood testing company Theranos, became the wealthiest female entrepreneur in the U.S. with a net worth of $4.5 billion. The wealthiest woman, Elizabeth Holmes, is 31 years old and is the world's youngest female billionaire.
Her company has the potential to change the way millions of Americans undergo medical blood testing. Another identity of this beautiful billionaire is that of a college dropout.
Holmes left Stanford University at 19 and used the tuition money her parents had saved for her to start her entrepreneurial journey. She stated that many young people's minds are full of new ideas, but they often wait too long to take action; she simply started her business earlier than others.
By taking the "first step," Holmes achieved success, and her company, Theranos, secured a place in the $76 billion laboratory diagnostics industry.
In 2003, after dropping out of Stanford University at 19, Holmes founded the blood testing company called Theranos. In 2014, the company was valued at $9 billion by venture capitalists. Holmes owns 50% of the company's equity. This company has the potential to serve millions of American customers.
Billionaire Larry Ellison is one of the investors, which also made her a billionaire.
Holmes honored the commitment of her parents funding her tuition by initially using the savings they had set aside for her education to start the company, with many considering her creative ideas and incredible insights to be unbelievable. Holmes said that many people have ideas but just wait; she said, "I just acted a little earlier." This blood testing company has about 500 employees, and its highly sophisticated laboratory can currently provide more than 200 common blood tests, with that number expected to increase to over 1,000 soon.
Modern clinical laboratories emerged in the 1960s. The blood testing method she invented is low-cost, fair, and transparent, charging less than half the price of medical insurance or subsidies, and the blood collection method is patented.
By taking only a few drops of blood from a fingertip, the discomfort of the blood collection process is minimized.
Her idea is that there is no need for more test vials, no need to draw more blood; only a tiny container smaller than a dime and a pinprick are needed, and up to 70 laboratory tests can be completed using a single drop of blood.
In 2003, when Holmes was still a 19-year-old student at Stanford University, she resolutely gave up her studies to start her own company, Theranos. Rather than using the money to pay for high tuition, she hoped the funds could do something that would contribute to society: change the healthcare industry.
When Holmes told her chemical engineering professor, Channing Robertson, about her idea, the professor asked her why she was taking such a risk. She replied: "I want to create a new technology that can be used to help everyone, regardless of their race, country, age, or gender."
Holmes's goal is to create technology that makes blood testing simpler, without the need for scary syringes, and at a lower cost and faster speed. With this idea in mind, she created software and hardware equipment for blood testing. With just a gentle prick on the finger, the blood sample can be stored in a container called a nanotainer.
Many people are unwilling to undergo blood tests because they fear syringes, thus missing the best time for medical treatment. Nearly half of the people in the United States are unwilling to follow doctors' orders to have blood drawn, and the technology developed by Holmes can effectively reduce people's fear of blood collection.
Even better, unlike traditional tests that always require waiting for several weeks, detailed test results can be obtained in just 4 hours through analysis software using the blood stored in the nanotainer. There is no need to go to a large hospital; the blood collection process can be completed at a nearby pharmacy, and it is much cheaper than traditional blood collection costs.
Currently, the market estimates the value of Theranos at $9 billion, and Holmes holds half of the shares, worth $4.5 billion. This also makes her the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. In the latest Forbes ranking, Holmes was ranked third among the youngest billionaires.
Theranos also expects to cooperate with other pharmaceutical companies in the future, and the prospects are bright. However, for Holmes, spiritual fulfillment is far more important than material wealth. As she said: "My goal is to hope that everyone has the ability to afford and does not need to be afraid of blood testing. If Theranos's products can help people achieve this, then everything is worth it."
Holmes believes that this easy-to-use test will encourage more people to undergo blood tests and detect diseases early. Her father is a Christian whose career focused on humanitarian relief work, including several senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
She said that her father used to work in disaster relief, and she saw some children in very difficult situations. She believes in what she is doing, and she is trying to make a difference, starting to think about what she can do to influence more people's lives.
Her solution is to set up health centers with soft music, fashion magazines, and relatively painless blood testing. The goal is for Americans within 5 miles to be able to reach her centers quickly. She contacted Walgreens to help her achieve this goal.
Currently, centers are established in California and Arizona, with plans to expand further nationwide. She said she hopes medical testing will be closer to people's lives, reducing testing time so it can be completed on weekends or after work, without needing to take time off from work.
The various prices published on its website are: blood typing: $2.05; cholesterol: $2.99; iron content: $4.45.
The company stated that if all blood tests in the United States could be performed at this price, it could save $98 billion in medical insurance and $104 billion in medical subsidies over the next decade.
According to the American Clinical Laboratory Association, the United States spends about $70 billion on medical testing annually, and these test results serve as the basis for 80% of clinical diagnoses. Often, laboratory testing costs are high, and blood is drawn from the arm using a syringe. 60% of Americans say they are afraid of needles or feel the costs are too high.
Elizabeth Holmes hopes to use lower costs and simpler, easier testing methods to obtain people's blood information, thereby detecting diseases in a timely manner. She wants people to be able to know their health information at the most critical time, and even if they do tests, they can get medical results quickly, helping to intervene early in the possible occurrence of some diseases.