Archived Link Interesting article but I do kinda feel like it devolves into a biography of Anne Wojcicki (though I did not know she was related to the Youtube CEO, and married(?) to A-Rod, small...
Interesting article but I do kinda feel like it devolves into a biography of Anne Wojcicki (though I did not know she was related to the Youtube CEO, and married(?) to A-Rod, small world huh)
At the center of 23andMe’s DNA-testing business are two fundamental challenges. Customers only need to take the test once, and few test-takers get life-altering health results.
This is what I always thought, and why I never really took any tests (besides the fact that i'll just probably tell me that I'm 100% eastern Asian of some sort). Once they run out of people that wanna get tested, where do they go from there? The article mentions that she's trying to transition over to healthcare and the like, but do I really trust a company like this to do something like that? Better to not give them that valuable info lol.
Too bad that they aren't able to find a solution to those two problems. I wish they focused more on actually finding DNA relatives and building your family tree. I would pay for a powerful tool...
Too bad that they aren't able to find a solution to those two problems. I wish they focused more on actually finding DNA relatives and building your family tree. I would pay for a powerful tool that combines genetics and historical documents.
I really appreciate the service and it got me remarkably far with my ancestry research. With a lot of searching through records and messaging my new genetic relatives, I was able to find my great-great grandmother's grave and a living half second cousin once-removed (I recognized one of her related family names).
I do not have any photos of me great-great grandmother because she moved out of Poland/Belarus at a young age (leaving my great grandmother behind by the way), but she had a new life in New York and started a new family with a new husband... I would love to see her life and now I have contact with her descendants.
And that is only one branch of the tree. I may have to use other services to contact genetic relatives if 23andme goes out of business. I don't know why they focused so much on health... how can you advertise success? If they used real stories like mine about finding family in their advertising, I bet more people would consider a subscription and importantly... more people would participate!
They are trying to tackle that problem with a subscription, but for $69 a year, you get 'exclusive information', which is repackaging common facts about common genetic traits into a report they...
They are trying to tackle that problem with a subscription, but for $69 a year, you get 'exclusive information', which is repackaging common facts about common genetic traits into a report they can automatically piece together for you. I'm sure some small percentage pays for it.
Since they have a saturation problem, the subscription model for existing customers makes sense, but their issue is a high starting price and lack of quality at the current price. Most people probably don't even perceive it as useful. And since in reality the subscription has not yielded any amazing successes for users, they can't advertise their successes. Bluntly, I think their actual problem is that they are a shitty company.
A privately owned company might be okay with this slow business. I don't think they'll eventually run out of people wanting to test. There's always people who will pay for such things. 23&Me is...
A privately owned company might be okay with this slow business. I don't think they'll eventually run out of people wanting to test. There's always people who will pay for such things.
23&Me is however publically traded and stockholders will need the perpetual increasing revenue. They are also not profitable. Plus now they want to enter healthcare and subscriptions (Weekly DNA test?) that's just cash burning. My suggestion, start a pathology business also.
I did a 23andme test in 2022 and got 23andme plus (it was discounted to $25; I wouldn't have paid $69 or even $30, probably). To be clear, you pay once and get more stuff shown on your "DNA...
They are also not profitable. Plus now they want to enter healthcare and subscriptions (Weekly DNA test?) that's just cash burning.
I did a 23andme test in 2022 and got 23andme plus (it was discounted to $25; I wouldn't have paid $69 or even $30, probably). To be clear, you pay once and get more stuff shown on your "DNA profile" for a year, and then if you want to keep it you have to renew it again every year that you keep it on your profile. It gave me some extra information, which was nice. But it doesnt give any extra information when you renew. Once I learned I was at greater risk for [insert disease here], I got the information I needed. So what would be the point of renewing my subscription? It's not like letting my subscription expire would suddenly make me forget that I'm at higher risk for the disease. They can take the info off of my account, but they can't take it out of my head.
Perhaps they think I'd continue subscribing for the "updates" that happen once or twice a year? Maybe several years worth of updates would be worth the discounted $25, if you're someone who's interested. But $69 is way overpriced just for one or two updates about risk for diseases you probably don't care about any way.
I see no way anything but a one-time fee would work for 23andme; "just cash burning" is right. 23andme is a fun one-time service, but I was just shaking my head at how stupid the subscription is.
And as they lose out on new customers what else can they turn to for profit to stay afloat except the only asset they have: existing user data. If they go under it makes you wonder who might buy...
And as they lose out on new customers what else can they turn to for profit to stay afloat except the only asset they have: existing user data.
If they go under it makes you wonder who might buy up all of your DNA for a bargain to use as they please. At the current trajectory this company will dissolve with nobody to hold accountable for promises made, but that data will be out there forever to be used against you and your entire (non-consenting) family as soon as someone finds another way to profit off of it or use it for discrimination.
The fact that this entire industry isn't covered under HIPAA protections is nonsense.
I wouldn't trust it even if they were because in the move fast and break things culture, they can mine the valuable info out of that data before they are held accountable. Years later in a lawsuit...
I wouldn't trust it even if they were because in the move fast and break things culture, they can mine the valuable info out of that data before they are held accountable. Years later in a lawsuit there might be a $10/customer settlement but all the assets and value will be stripped out leaving a corporate husk and a lot of rich ex-executives.
Archived Link
Interesting article but I do kinda feel like it devolves into a biography of Anne Wojcicki (though I did not know she was related to the Youtube CEO, and married(?) to A-Rod, small world huh)
This is what I always thought, and why I never really took any tests (besides the fact that i'll just probably tell me that I'm 100% eastern Asian of some sort). Once they run out of people that wanna get tested, where do they go from there? The article mentions that she's trying to transition over to healthcare and the like, but do I really trust a company like this to do something like that? Better to not give them that valuable info lol.
Too bad that they aren't able to find a solution to those two problems. I wish they focused more on actually finding DNA relatives and building your family tree. I would pay for a powerful tool that combines genetics and historical documents.
I really appreciate the service and it got me remarkably far with my ancestry research. With a lot of searching through records and messaging my new genetic relatives, I was able to find my great-great grandmother's grave and a living half second cousin once-removed (I recognized one of her related family names).
I do not have any photos of me great-great grandmother because she moved out of Poland/Belarus at a young age (leaving my great grandmother behind by the way), but she had a new life in New York and started a new family with a new husband... I would love to see her life and now I have contact with her descendants.
And that is only one branch of the tree. I may have to use other services to contact genetic relatives if 23andme goes out of business. I don't know why they focused so much on health... how can you advertise success? If they used real stories like mine about finding family in their advertising, I bet more people would consider a subscription and importantly... more people would participate!
Hmm that's an interesting use case that I personally never would use, but I'm not sure if that would solve their human saturation problem, right?
They are trying to tackle that problem with a subscription, but for $69 a year, you get 'exclusive information', which is repackaging common facts about common genetic traits into a report they can automatically piece together for you. I'm sure some small percentage pays for it.
Since they have a saturation problem, the subscription model for existing customers makes sense, but their issue is a high starting price and lack of quality at the current price. Most people probably don't even perceive it as useful. And since in reality the subscription has not yielded any amazing successes for users, they can't advertise their successes. Bluntly, I think their actual problem is that they are a shitty company.
A privately owned company might be okay with this slow business. I don't think they'll eventually run out of people wanting to test. There's always people who will pay for such things.
23&Me is however publically traded and stockholders will need the perpetual increasing revenue. They are also not profitable. Plus now they want to enter healthcare and subscriptions (Weekly DNA test?) that's just cash burning. My suggestion, start a pathology business also.
I did a 23andme test in 2022 and got 23andme plus (it was discounted to $25; I wouldn't have paid $69 or even $30, probably). To be clear, you pay once and get more stuff shown on your "DNA profile" for a year, and then if you want to keep it you have to renew it again every year that you keep it on your profile. It gave me some extra information, which was nice. But it doesnt give any extra information when you renew. Once I learned I was at greater risk for [insert disease here], I got the information I needed. So what would be the point of renewing my subscription? It's not like letting my subscription expire would suddenly make me forget that I'm at higher risk for the disease. They can take the info off of my account, but they can't take it out of my head.
Perhaps they think I'd continue subscribing for the "updates" that happen once or twice a year? Maybe several years worth of updates would be worth the discounted $25, if you're someone who's interested. But $69 is way overpriced just for one or two updates about risk for diseases you probably don't care about any way.
I see no way anything but a one-time fee would work for 23andme; "just cash burning" is right. 23andme is a fun one-time service, but I was just shaking my head at how stupid the subscription is.
And as they lose out on new customers what else can they turn to for profit to stay afloat except the only asset they have: existing user data.
If they go under it makes you wonder who might buy up all of your DNA for a bargain to use as they please. At the current trajectory this company will dissolve with nobody to hold accountable for promises made, but that data will be out there forever to be used against you and your entire (non-consenting) family as soon as someone finds another way to profit off of it or use it for discrimination.
The fact that this entire industry isn't covered under HIPAA protections is nonsense.
I wouldn't trust it even if they were because in the move fast and break things culture, they can mine the valuable info out of that data before they are held accountable. Years later in a lawsuit there might be a $10/customer settlement but all the assets and value will be stripped out leaving a corporate husk and a lot of rich ex-executives.
I guess that makes the Mormons the trustworthy ones in the genetics/ancestry game?