Top 10 Things The Dropout Got Factually Right & Wrong

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, what do they all have in common? Among other things, they were all behind tech giants and none of them finished college. Elizabeth Holmes sought to replicate their success beat for beat on the road to becoming a self-made billionaire. Following the example of her idols, Holmes dropped out of Stanford’s School of Engineering in 2004 at age 19. So, the show’s title is definitely accurate, as is its portrayal of Holmes’ college years. Only a few months before Holmes left Stanford, she contacted the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office, reporting that she had been sexually assaulted. Holmes would later discuss the experience at her trial, testifying that this crime influenced her to drop out and start Theranos.

Professor Channing Robertson encouraged Holmes’ vision at Stanford, becoming an early board member at Theranos. Holmes would stand outside of Robertson’s office, asking him if she could join his graduate research program, eventually landing a spot despite her young age. In the series, Holmes works closely with T.A. Rakesh Madhava. The two go on to collaborate at Theranos, but Madhava leaves after his friend and colleague, Edmond Ku, is fired. While “The Dropout” gets a fair deal right about Madhava, they changed one major detail: his name. Madhava is seemingly based on Shaunak Roy, who assisted Robertson and became Theranos’ first employee. Some outlets credit Roy as Theranos’ co-founder, but like Madhava, he jumped ship as the cracks started showing.

“The Dropout” depicts Holmes as an ambitious entrepreneur who starts with good intentions. As she becomes more desperate to succeed, she comprises her morals. A significant turning point comes when she subjects terminal cancer patients to a clinical trial. Although Holmes is repeatedly told that the prototype isn’t ready, she insists that this is all part of the process. Theranos did indeed use faulty testing devices on cancer patients in Nashville, Tennessee, which drove Ana Arriola to leave the company. The show sees Arriola quit on the spot. In reality, though, she initially asked Holmes to hold off on the trials. Not long after Holmes refused, Arriola gave her resignation. While Holmes was found guilty on several counts, defrauding patients controversially wasn’t one of them.

Like Rakesh Madhava, Brendan Morris seemingly doesn’t exist, but he mirrors somebody who does. In the show, Morris is an engineer who’s brought onboard to speed up the prototype’s production. This creates a more competitive work environment between Morris’ team and Ku’s team. Morris finally has enough of Theranos after Ian Gibbons takes his life. He writes an email detailing Gibbons’ achievements shortly before leaving Theranos. Morris shares much in common with Tony Nugent, who arrived at Theranos around the same time to work on the Edison. He also wrote an email tribute for Gibbons, although Nugent didn’t send it to the whole company. Where it’s implied that Morris resigned immediately following Gibbons’ death, Sunny Balwani fired Nugent three months later.

For a brief moment, it appears that Theranos might have a working prototype to show Switzerland-based healthcare company Novartis. In one of the show’s most stressful sequences, the machine stops functioning. With the team in Switzerland and Ku back in the States, they spend all night trying to get the machine to work over video call. When all else fails, Holmes fudges the truth with previous results. According to John Carreyrou’s book, “Bad Blood,” the blood-testing device did break down and Holmes’ team stayed up for hours to no avail. Back in California was Tim Kemp, the leader of Theranos’ software team and a so-called “yes man.” While Kemp isn’t referred to by name in “The Dropout,” his team sent the fake test results to Switzerland.

The show sees Holmes meet Sunny Balwani while studying in China, marking the beginning of a friendship that turns into a romance and partnership. Most of this is true, although Holmes had done a few summer programs before meeting Balwani, who was married to Japanese artist Keiko Fujimoto at the time. Balwani became Theranos’ president and COO, not to mention Holmes’ partner in crime. When Tyler Shultz, board member George Shultz’ grandson, caught wind of Theranos’ misdeeds, Holmes and Balwani tried to keep him quiet. After the truth came out, Holmes essentially threw Balwani under the bus. She accused him of mistreating her mentally and physically, which Balwani denies. The show, meanwhile, depicts their relationship as consensual, albeit quite toxic nonetheless.

After CVS, Walgreens is the biggest pharmacy chain in the United States. And Theranos played the pharmacy giant like a fiddle. How? Pretty much the same way we see in Episode 4. Walgreens enlisted lab consultant Kevin Hunter to evaluate Theranos, but the fraudulent company did everything to keep their secrets under wraps. This included Balwani shadowing Hunter on the way to the bathroom and stalling with a sushi lunch. Despite these red flags, Walgreens didn’t want CVS to beat them, agreeing to build 40 in-store wellness centers. Dr. Jay Rosan, Walgreens’ Vice President of Health Innovation, was especially keen on partnering with Theranos. Walgreens wasn’t the first giant that Theranos duped, as Safeway was already prepared to invest $350 million into remodeling 800 stores.

As seen in “The Dropout,” Holmes used her tuition money to start up Theranos, or Real-Time Cures as it was originally called. In time, Holmes would find several wealthy investors. The show credits Don Lucas for giving Theranos its first big break as the company faces bankruptcy. In reality, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper was Theranos’ first significant investor, cutting a million-dollar check. However, Holmes did win over Lucas, who became chairman of the board. Along with Lucas, much of the Theranos board consisted of government officials who weren’t well-versed in medicine. Rupert Murdoch, Betsy DeVos, and the Waltons were just some of Theranos’ key investors. Theranos also got two huge endorsements from former president Bill Clinton and future president Joe Biden.

Throughout the series, we see Holmes transform from an in over her head, sloppily-dressed businesswoman to a confident biotech superstar. She not only possesses the charisma of her idol, Steve Jobs, but also the black turtlenecks. In addition to her new wardrobe, Holmes begins to develop a drastically deeper voice. Although Holmes’ family has claimed that her baritone voice is legit, many other insiders believe it’s all part of her facade. This includes professor Phyllis Gardner, who says that Holmes didn’t talk that way at Stanford. Holmes’ voice can even be heard changing from high to low during a 2005 interview. Whether or not the voice is fake, Amanda Seyfried does an authentic job at capturing the persona that Holmes presents in public.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Holmes’ Father Worked at Enron, Right
What’s More, He Was a Vice President

Lucas Asked Avie Tevanian to Resign, Right
In Retrospect, Lucas Probably Should’ve Listened to Tevanian’s Suspicions

Lucas Tried Removing Holmes as CEO, Right
It Took A Few Hours For Holmes to Convince the Board, However

Ku Didn’t Have His Car They Day He Was Fired, Right
The Rotten Cherry On Top of a Bad Day

Richard Fuisz Lawsuit, Right
And Theranoes Was Represented by David Boies of Bush v. Gore

Phyllis Gardner Suspected Elizabeth, Right
She Called Her a “Fraud” Before Virtually Everyone Else

Of all the figures depicted in “The Dropout,” biochemist Ian Gibbons is the one we sympathize with the most. Unfortunately, almost everything about Gibbons in the series is accurate. Sharing a mutual connection in Robertson, Gibbons went to work for Theranos following a cancer battle. The lab leader was let go after expressing concerns, but when his colleagues spoke up for him, Gibbons was rehired, albeit now as a technical consultant. When subpoenaed to testify regarding Theranos’ patent lawsuit, Gibbons was given limited options. He ultimately took the most tragic route, mixing alcohol and medication the night before he was set to testify. Gibbons actually died several days after his wife found him unconscious in his bathroom. Theranos was then quick to retrieve his laptop.