Epic Startup Corporate Governance Fails

The two high profile startup “unicorn” dramas of the last few months that have captured the emerging downsides of the pursuit of rapid (and very well funded) growth are clearly Theranos and now Zenefits. Both are very different situations yet each as a startling similarity at the core namely, as seen by many outside observers, a profound failure of corporate governance. In “When the Tide Goes Out – Bad Stuff Version” I noted last October that: “…extended periods of loose money and exuberant investment are typically associated with some high profile incidents not just of mis-valuation but misrepresentation, or worse.”