April 17, 2015 - Holmes CBS Morning News Interview

Rough running notes of CBS interview.

She's been compared to Steve Jobs.  She's part of the new Time 100 list.  Her mission - blood testing revolution.

CBS - Do you own a TV? "No."

CBS - Why not?  "I work all the time, from the time I wake up, til I go to sleep every day."

At 19, she dropped out of Stanford.  With a little tuition money and a lot of ideas.   Now at 31 she has what many strive for - to be the youngest billionaire in the world.  

CBS - Is that heady?

EH - It's not what matters, what matters is how well we do in changing the world, that's why I work, why I love what I'm doing.

What Holmes is doing is running Theranos, the biotech she founded in 2003.

She's either in a black turtleneck or a white lab coat.

She markets Theranos as a faster, cheaper alternative to a process that hasn't changed in decades.

EH: We created these tiny tubes, Nanotainers, and replace the big traditional tubes.

Theranos has a partnership with Walgreens to build thousands of wellness centers.   Each offers a menu of blood tests, cancer to cholesterol, direct to consumers, and half of Medicare prices.

Some say, That's not enough blood.

EH: Every time you create something new, there should be questions.  That means you've done something transformative.

When can I get this in Washington or New York?
EH: That's underway.

Little is known about how Theranos tests work, so there's concern about putting this in patients and doctors hands.

It's a really important area.  Traditionally, you need a doctor's order for a code on a lab form.  But drop the price low, and preventive testing becomes possible.

CBS - You're on magazines, transforming healthcare.  Where is the revolution?
EH - "It's making it personal, making it possible, cancer, child, elderly, getting around a traditional blood draw is a big deal."

Holmes is a real, rare example of what perseverance makes possible.

EH - "When I was little, I wrote a letter to my Dad, I was exciting about moving to Texas which I thought was big on science.  I was 9.  I grew up in a family of people who wanted to make a difference."

She hasn't wasted time, the youngest member ever of the Horatio Alger association - and the only woman among the older white men.

EH - What's wonderful is that young girls can see this and connect.  Living proof that dreams are possible.

Where's there's a glass ceiling, there's an iron woman right behind it.

She has the most impressive board of any startup, Kissinger, Schultz.  Kissinger says she has an iron will.

CBS staff:  Why did she do this?   She has an aversion to needles.  Someone in her family had cancer.