Extra: Why Is 23andMe Going Under? (Update)
Five years ago, we published an episode about the boom in home DNA testing kits, focusing on the high-flying firm 23andMe and its C.E.O. Anne Wojcicki. Their flight has been extremely bumpy since then. This update includes an additional interview with the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been investigating the firm’s collapse.
SOURCES:Rolfe Winkler, reporter at The Wall Street Journal.
Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and C.E.O. of 23andMe.
RESOURCES:"23andMe’s Fall From $6 Billion to Nearly $0," by Rolfe Winkler (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
"23andMe User Data Stolen in Targeted Attack on Ashkenazi Jews," by Lily Hay Newman (Wired, 2023).
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love, by Dani Shapiro (2019).
How To Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results, by Esther Wojcicki (2019).
“Diet and exercise changes following direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing,” by Daiva Elena Nielsen, Deanna Alexis Carere, Catharine Wang, J. Scott Roberts, and Robert C. Green (BMC Medical Genomics, 2016).
“The impact of communicating genetic risks of disease on risk-reducing health behaviour: systematic review with meta-analysis,” Gareth J Hollands, David P. French, Simon J. Griffin, A. Toby Prevost, Stephen Sutton, Sarah King, Theresa M. Marteau (The British Medical Journal, 2016).
EXTRAS:"Does Your DNA Determine Your Weight?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
"What’s Stopping Us From Curing Rare Diseases?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2023).
"We Can Play God Now," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).
"Susan Wojcicki: 'Hey, Let’s Go Buy YouTube!'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2020).
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Genomes Unlocked: Anne Wojcicki's Vision for 23andMe and the Future of Proactive Healthcare | E1858
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Today’s show:
23andMe's Anne Wojcicki joins Jason for a deep dive on genome testing and healthcare. They cover the dramatic reduction in genome sequencing costs from billions to just $99 (3:15), the role of blood testing and sequencing in shaping 23andMe's health approach (27:02), the curious case of the venomous Gila monster (42:09), and much more!
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Anne Wojcicki of 23andMe joins Jason for an insightful discussion.
(1:28) Exploring the impact of 23andMe and the trend of genome sequencing for proactive health management.
(3:15) Tracing the dramatic reduction in genome sequencing costs from billions to just $99.
(10:58) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://www.claconnect.com/tech
(12:24) Discussing a pivotal moment in advancing our understanding of health and genetics.
(18:41) Strategies for integrating new health initiatives in the U.S. and international healthcare systems.
(22:26) House of Macadamias is the next big health trend! Get a free month's supply of Macadamia Milk with any order at https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code TWIST20!
(23:54) Addressing the need for a paradigm shift in healthcare policies and incentive structures.
(27:02) The role of blood testing and exome sequencing in shaping 23andMe's comprehensive health approach.
(30:45) Embracing a holistic perspective in personal health and wellness.
(32:57) .Tech Domains has a new program called startups.tech, where you can get your startup featured on This Week in Startups. Go to http://www.startups.tech/jason to find out how!
(34:02) Emphasizing the significance of regular blood tests for health monitoring.
(41:55) A lesson in healthcare for everyone and the curious case of the venomous Gila monster.
(48:59) Connecting the dots between modern healthcare, science, and technology: A real-life 'choose-your-own-adventure'.
(52:39) Exploring the benefits of Lemonaid Health's acquisition by 23andMe.
(58:32) Anne Wojcicki reflects on her 17-year journey in the field and shares her vision for the future of health and genetics.
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Thanks to our partners:
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Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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20VC: The Memo: Chris Sacca on Why We Are Breeding a Generation of Entitled Assholes, Harley Finkelstein on What Great Fatherhood Really Means, Deena Shakir on How Kids Make You a Better Investor and Anne Wojcicki on How Children Change Your Approach to R
Chris Sacca is the Founder and Chairman @ Lowercase Capital, one of the best performing funds in the history of venture capital with a portfolio including Uber, Stripe, Twitter, Instagram, Twilio, Docker and many more. Why does Chris believe we have bred a generation of asshole kids?
What is the right way to negotiate with children? How has that impacted how he manages his team?
Anne Wojcicki is the Founder & CEO @ 23andMe, offering DNA testing with the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown, personalized health insights, and more.
How did having kids change Anne's approach to time allocation and risk?
Harley Finkelstein is the President of Shopify. Over the last 12 years, Harley has partnered with Tobi to the tune of building Shopify's revenue to over $4.6BN in 2021 and the team to over 10,000 employees.
Does Harley believe he has always been a good father?
What changes has Harley made to be more present and there for his children?
Why does Harley advise couples therapy as early in a relationship as possible?
Deena Shakir is a Partner at Lux Capital, one of the leading firms investing in emerging science and technology ventures at the outermost edges of what is possible.
What specific negotiation tactics from parenting can be applied to business?
How can a parent show their children they listen, they understand and are there for them?
Why does Deena believe children make you more productive and more efficient?
Eric Liaw is a General Partner @ IVP, one of the leading later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms of the last decade with $8.7 billion of committed capital and a 40-year IRR of 43.1%.
What have been the biggest challenges for Eric of managing family and work?
What have been some of Eric's biggest lessons in terms of how he communicates about his work to his family?
Scott Dietzen is Vice Chairman of the Board of Pure Storage and served as the Company's CEO from 2010 to 2017. Under his leadership, Pure grew to thousands of employees and completed an IPO in 2015.
What can parents learn from nature programs?
What core elements of parenting are directly transferrable to management?
20VC: 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki on How To Approach Trust in Business and Personal Relationships, Leadership Lessons from Sheryl Sandberg and Reflections on How The Best Founders Manage Their Boards
Anne Wojcicki is the Founder & CEO @ 23andme, offering DNA testing with the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown, personalized health insights, and more. To date, Anne has raised over $1BN for the company from the likes of Sequoia, GV, NEA and many more incredible names. Prior to founding 23andMe, Anne spent a decade on Wall Street investing in healthcare and felt frustrated by a system built around monetizing illness instead of incentivizing prevention. If that was not enough, Anne is also on the board of Cazoo and The Anne Wojcicki Foundation and is an active angel investor with investments in the likes of Embark and Maven Clinic.
In Today's Episode with Anne Wojcicki You Will Learn:
1.) How Anne made her way from Wall St healthcare investing to founding one of the leading healthcare companies of the last decade in 23andme?
2.) Trust and Friendship:
How does Anne determine whether someone is genuine or is being transactional? What are the signs?
How does Anne approach trust in relationships? Start from a base of full trust and it is to be lost or start with none and it is to be gained?
What does Anne believe are the core of the best and most healthy relationships she has?
3.) Leadership:
How does Anne reflect on her own decision-making processes today?
How does Anne create a safe space where her team feel they can pushback on her and tell her how they feel?
How does Anne approach internal role migration? What does Anne do to get the very best out of her team?
How has Anne's leadership style changed over the years?
How has being on the board of Cazoo changed how Anne reflects on her own board leadership? What have been some of her biggest lessons from Alex Chesterman?
4.) AMA:
What is the hardest element of Anne's role with 23andme?
What is Anne's morning routine?
What 3 traits would Anne most want her children to have?
Anne can have a billboard anywhere, what do it say on it and why?
What would Anne most like to change in the world of healthcare over the next decade?
Predictive Disease Risk Modeling at 23andMe with Subarna Sinha - #436
Today we’re joined by Subarna Sinha, Machine Learning Engineering Leader at 23andMe.
23andMe handles a massive amount of genomic data every year from its core ancestry business but also uses that data for disease prediction, which is the core use case we discuss in our conversation.
Subarna talks us through an initial use case of creating an evaluation of polygenic scores, and how that led them to build an ML pipeline and platform. We talk through the tools and tech stack used for the operationalization of their platform, the use of synthetic data, the internal pushback that came along with the changes that were being made, and what’s next for her team and the platform.
The complete show notes for this episode can be found at twimlai.com/go/436.
23andMe's Anne Wojcicki: Embrace the gatekeepers
When Anne Wojcicki co-founded 23andMe, she carved out a brand-new space in personal health -- helping people become experts on their bodies right down to the DNA level. Then the federal regulators came calling. But instead of trying to outwit the FDA in the name of moving fast, Wojcicki made the call to work with regulators directly and collaboratively. Hear how she embraced "red tape" as a tool to scale — not swiftly, but sustainably.
Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/anne-wojcicki-how-and-why-to-embrace-gatekeepers/
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378. 23andMe (and You, and Everyone Else)
The revolution in home DNA testing is giving consumers important, possibly life-changing information. It’s also building a gigantic database that could lead to medical breakthroughs. But how will you deal with upsetting news? What if your privacy is compromised? And are you prepared to have your DNA monetized? We speak with Anne Wojcicki, founder and C.E.O. of 23andMe.
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Recode Decode: 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki
23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki talks with Recode's Kara Swisher in this live interview recorded at the Rock Health Summit in San Francisco. In this episode: (01:30) Elizabeth Warren's heritage and disputed science; (08:10) 23andMe's business and the FDA under Trump; (12:09) The impact of Theranos' implosion; (14:24) The challenges of the consumer market and health analysis; (18:40) Privacy, consent and safety; (24:57) Techlash and being "lumped in"; (29:59) Anti-aging technology; (32:23) Partnering with GSK, solving cold cases and ethics; (37:40) Insurance companies and what Wojcicki wished she knew at the start; (39:20) Diversity and going public
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Recode Decode: Anne Wojcicki, CEO, 23andMe
Kara Swisher talks with 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki about why the personal genomics company's mission is unchanged after a battle with the FDA. Wojcicki argues that understanding one's own genetic traits is part of a broader trend of consumers taking control of their health. She also discusses being a famous female tech executive, what she thinks of 23andMe's embattled peer Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos and why she doesn't read her own press (especially when it is about her relationship with New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez).
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