[Music] in 2009 Elizabeth Holmes found herself in an uncertain Place despite losing key recruits her company was now 6 years old she had a new office in palto where Theos employees were working to carry out her revolutionary Mission but she was desperately in need of more money the nation was in the middle of economic turmoil the country is officially declared to be in recession 6 and2 million Americans have lost their jobs companies that had been around for Generations were struggling to get loans and even the Giants were falling like dominoes the Leman Brothers Investment Bank appears headed toward [Music] bankruptcy but unlike so many others Elizabeth had an ace up her [Music] sleeve first name is rames last name is bani most people call me sunny sunny balwani was a multi-millionaire who seemingly came out of nowhere to save the day I knew this Mission and what company was trying to do uh was Paramount uh so I ended up giving a13 million personal loan son balwani had made his own fortune at Microsoft and Lotus and he had zero medical credentials did he have any qualifications in the lab testing business he did not or in pathology or anything like that not to my knowledge and yet he became essentially the most powerful person of the company next to Elizabeth I always wondered why he was there if she held this vision of really impacting the world I was like why why why did you pick him then he was tur and he was a bit of a hotthead he brought this ruthlessness with him that the company had never seen the license plate on his Lamborghini was a fitting metaphor for his management style it paid homage to Caesar's famous I came I saw I conquered and yet Sunny's vision for the company seemed to line up with Elizabeth's we have been working uh hard uh to build something which we think is magical in early 2010 their work was about to pay off when the duo secured a meeting with Pharmacy giant Walgreens we were interested in partnering with Walgreens because of the retail footprint the partnership with Walgreens is a huge game changer because Walgreens has these wellness centers and if they have the ability to test people's blood with a finger prick right in the store it could change everything according to wall greens Theos said their technology had been comprehensively validated and was viable and consumer ready I thought this is incredible if these people have actually pulled off what they're claiming then that could certainly change the practice of lab medicine Walgreens saw the chance to be at the Forefront of something huge so they eventually cut a $140 million deal fast forward to 3 years later and Elizabeth is celebrating the opening of her first Theos Wellness Center in this Walgreens in palto California and with that are you one of these people that love blood tests no it grosses me out Elizabeth started pedaling her product to the masses launching this striking video campaign directed by Oscar winning documentarian Errol Morris well I was wondering if you would take a blood test for us which is one drop of blood one drop bring it on that's it how you feeling feeling good they exude confidence they exude this reality that this thing is real it gives Elizabeth Holmes just one more card to say look what I'm doing is going to change the world I'm a fan well likewise our work is in uh the belief that access to health information is a basic human right Elizabeth took her mission to the main state Charming the audience at the Clinton Global initiative you founded this company 12 years ago right tell them how old you were I was [Music] 19 don't worry about the future we're in good hands in June 2014 she was vaulted to stardom after she was profiled in Fortune Magazine the article stated that Theos offers more than 200 blood tests without the need for a syringe but precisely how Theos accomplishes all these amazing feats is a trade secret and that's when the Press coverage really started picking up and you saw her almost once a [Music] week Elizabeth Holmes from Theos Elizabeth Holmes Elizabeth Holmes thank you uh for having me I am so incredibly humbled we did this these big splashy profiles were kind of big wet kisses she did Mt money with Jim Kramer Charlie Rose CBS This Morning little tiny tubes which we call the Nano tainers I mean on and on and on congratulations the whole the success you've had and I sure hope you win we cannot lose sight of how much we wanted to believe there's no better story than the young woman at Stanford who dropped out because she wanted to save people's lives to the young women in the room here do everything you can to be the best she was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people wed called her work mindblowing I got what it takes I will never break always going hard no matter what they say man I it Elizabeth started Living the Life befitting of a Covergirl I also heard she was traveling with four bodyguards packing [Music] heat further adding to the hype her Allstar board of directors her board was made up of some of the biggest names in history George Schultz I think that was her first connection the former Secretary of State the guy who many people credit with winning the Cold War he met Elizabeth Holmes back in 2011 she's a drop at she left after her sophomore year he then introduced her to all these other aging ex Statesman Bill Frist I was impressed with the technology Admiral Ruff head I just saw this this potential that was there and and was intrigued by him she's Kissinger come on Kissinger a friend of mine said your board uh looks like you guys are ready to take over the world not uh start a medical device company I remember thinking what an odd group of people that is and it was interesting there wasn't a woman on that board it was kind of fascinating if you think about it what Elizabeth Holmes's gift was was she was able to take older white men who were incredibly successful at one point in their careers and wrap them around her finger the board and the Walgreens deal became significant selling points enticing a variety of investors from the ultra wealthy to the everyday Joe's by 2014 Theos was valued at $9 billion the founders of Walmart invested 150 million media Mogul rert Murdoch 125 million and the DeVos family including now education secretary Betsy DeVos 100 million she was able to sell to all these people and get them because they all trust each other if you're doing it it must be good I'm seeing things pop up inside of Walgreens and I'm wondering maybe it finally works but I'm still in my mind remembering all these other things and saying I still don't believe it I still don't believe it she seemed forthcoming except when you asked her about can I see the machine no you can't and then downstairs in the basement was the secret place you couldn't go [Music] hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our Channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching