At this point, we (HN community) are just treating this like a season of Jersey Shore.<p>She&#x27;s working her ass off to build a company with a mission far more important than email marketing or advertising or Candy Crush or blockchains.<p>Were they overly optimistic in their projections? Probably, but try starting a company and not being optimistic. You&#x27;ll never get off the ground.<p>Did they not take reasonable precautions in an industry (biotech&#x2F;healthcare) with serious repercussions? Absolutely. There are very real questions about her empathy and ethics.<p>That said, let&#x27;s stop getting giddy every time Theranos (or some other startup) shows weakness. As founders — those &quot;playing startup&quot; excluded — it is incredibly hard. Let&#x27;s have some empathy ourselves for those who have (likely) fucked up.