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  • CitricBase@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1421·
    2 days ago

    How on Earth did they manage to fuck this up?

    They were the leading firm in a field where having the most data makes yours the most accurate tests. Their product sold for hundreds of dollars a pop, with practically zero marginal costs to run the tests. And they were really popular, selling like hotcakes.

    It’s insane just how astoundingly incompetent upper management can be sometimes.

    • Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
      1042·
      2 days ago

      They were being sued in the past for privacy breaches, they probably are in more trouble financially n than what’s being reported?

      Apparently they were just there to sell your genome data once you submit it, also there’s no repeat customers since once you get your results you aren’t going to get another one.

      This article explains it better"https://www.standard.co.uk/news/science/23-and-me-dna-test-collapse-b1213426.html"

      • slaacaa@lemmy.worldEnglish
        291·
        2 days ago

        Good article. It was fundamentally not a good business model. You have to acquire new customers constantly just to keep the lights on, it’s unsustainable. Adding on top of that the expectations from investors to grow every year, and the collapse we see now is guatanteed.

        I see they tried to diversify, that could have helped, but without a recurring revenue stream at the core of your business, you cannot become the big company they wanted to be.

        • Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
          2·
          1 day ago

          i was comparing it to THERANOS, more or less it was a scam from the start. Having someone like british pharm company glaxo-kline smith access to data without consent is just asking for trouble.

      • DandomRude@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        2 days ago

        Yes, just terrible management. They could have just made good money, but no, there has to be more. So excessive greed at any price - now it’s just bankruptcy. But I’m sure that won’t bother the senior management: they’ve already put their millions in a safe place and will simply move on. The next company that needs their outstanding leadership is bound to come along…

    • meliante@lemm.eeEnglish
      466·
      2 days ago

      No returning customers, due to the nature of the business. It’s dead from the start.

      • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        372·
        2 days ago

        I’m not sure what would make you think the “customers” for an enormous DNA database were the people providing the DNA.

        Those people were just paying to be the product.

        • SippyCup@feddit.nlEnglish
          41·
          2 days ago

          Right, but the data you get from that test is pretty broad. One test will create a background for an entire family. You only need to do one for one child. Or if both parents have one, or a sibling of both parents have done one, the children of that pair also no longer needs a test to see their background.

          • dubyakay@lemmy.caEnglish
            2·
            2 days ago

            It’s not just about background though. Could also filter the results for genetic markers of medical conditions, something that may differ between individuals.

        • acosmichippo@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          true but after the enormous initial boom they would have reached an equilibrium of a small trickle. the question is if that small trickle is enough to sustain a company on its own, so apparently not.

      • CitricBase@lemmy.worldEnglish
        131·
        2 days ago

        It can’t be just that, right? There are loads of successful products that any given person only ever buys once.

          • Captain_Buddha@lemmy.worldEnglish
            32·
            2 days ago

            That’s easy! 1: Coffin 2: Headstone 3: septic tank 4: bad parachute 5: cemetery plot

            There’s, uh, a bit of a theme with these though.

            • acosmichippo@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              2 days ago

              everyone is guaranteed to buy death/funeral related stuff, not everyone wants a DNA test. Also all of that crap (headstone, funeral service, coffin etc) is bundeled together in a massive payday, not to mention funeral places tend to price gouge the bereaved. So a single death is a much bigger payday than a single DNA test.

              As for the other products you mentioned, i doubt any of those companies literally only sell those individual products. They probably diversify to other products and services too.

          • asap@lemmy.worldEnglish
            14·
            2 days ago

            Come on. Any “buy it for life” product will fall in that category. Safety razor for example.

            • acosmichippo@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              2 days ago

              Companies that sell safety razors (or whatever buy-once product) probably also do lots of other stuff to diversify.

            • Fondots@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              2 days ago

              Ah, you mean the original “razor and blades” business model that ensures repeat customers.

              (Yes, I’m aware that many people who use safety razors these days are not necessarily buying from brands that make both the razor and the blades, I am such a person myself, I’m somewhat joking on that)

              But even in the realm of “buy it for life” items, you can still end up with repeat customers. Maybe you want a second razor for your travel toiletry bag, or to keep in your second bathroom. Maybe you just see one that looks cooler, or the handle is more ergonomic, or the way you change the blade seems more convenient.

              And BIFL items still do sometimes get lost, stolen, given away, thrown out, or sometimes even broken and need to be replaced.

              And unless the world’s population starts shrinking, there will always be new shavers hitting puberty who will eventually need their own razor.

              With a DNA test, unless you’re questioning paternity or testing for specific genetic traits like cancer risk and such, once your parents have taken a test, you and your siblings don’t really need to, you know what your parents are so you know what you are.

          • Jerb322@lemmy.worldEnglish
            81·
            2 days ago

            A headstone, grave, urn, wedding dress, and any outfit used in a religious ceremony.

  • MinorLaceration@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1021·
    2 days ago

    Reminder that you can download and save your data locally then revoke your consent agreements and delete your data. Who knows if it will actually be deleted though.

    Edit: Also revoke your consent to store your sample if you allowed that.

    • Phoenixz@lemmy.caEnglish
      282·
      2 days ago

      Yeah good luck with that.

      I doubt they’d actually delete data now. Who are you going to sue if they don’t? They’re bankrupt and they’ll just pull a “oh we forgot to delete it!”

      They need these samples and data to be sold off to pay off a lot of groups so I honestly don’t believe they’ll delete anything

      If your brother or even cousin did a test it’s about good enough to be applied to you too for a lot of cases so yay, so much fun about human DNA databases now being available to the highest bidder.

      Who would bid? Maybe America’s new Nazi’s would like an insight in their racial purity? So many fun ideas!

      That company should be burned down to the ground

      • psycho_driver@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        2 days ago

        That company should be burned down to the ground

        Seems like they did a pretty good job of burning themselves to the ground.