The Repository of

Ill-Advised Ventures

A collection of relics from frauds, fiascos, and ambitious ideas that should have been stopped much earlier.

View collectionAbout the collection
Several items in the Repository of Ill-Advised Ventures collection arranged around large FAST letters.
Permanent collection

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The collection

RIAV 001Donated 2019
Theranos-branded centrifuge, front view
A Theranos-branded Drucker model 842VES centrifuge and two Forbes photoshoot prints by Ethan Pines

Theranos

Blood-testing backed by boardroom prestige.

Open exhibit
RIAV 002Acquired 2020
An image of a Juicero juicer
A Juicero Press

Juicero

A $700 juicer for pre-squeezed packets.

Open exhibit
RIAV 003Donated 2020
Front view of the Florida voting machine
A Florida voting machine from the 2000 presidential election

Bush v. Gore

Democracy interrupted by butterfly ballot.

Open exhibit
RIAV 004Acquired 2022
Enron plaque and pin, front view
An Enron Executive Impact & Influence Program plaque and an Enron Field pin

Enron

An honesty award from Enron.

Open exhibit
RIAV 005Acquired 2022
FAST hoodie and sticker
A Fast Checkout hoodie, matching sticker, and foam office letters

Fast Checkout

One of the many one-click commerce startups that didn't get much commerce.

Open exhibit
RIAV 006Donated 2022
FTX cards and koozies together
Two FTX koozies, a few Joe West baseball cards displaying the FTX umpire patch, 2 FTX backpacks, one Alameda Research backpack, 4 sweatshirts, 4 T shirts, an Alameda Research recruiting pamphlet, a mousepad, 2 hats, and a staff uniform from FTX arena

FTX

Sports sponsorships and merch from the most trusted crypto empire.

Open exhibit
RIAV 007Acquired 2021
Pryme Vessyl on its stand
A Pryme Vessyl "intelligent" cup

Vessyl

A cup that promised molecular certainty.

Open exhibit
RIAV 008Donated 2022
Front-facing photo of a Chrisley Knows Best water bottle
A "Chrisley Knows Best" water bottle

Chrisley

Reality-TV merchandise with white-collar crime flair.

Open exhibit
RIAV 009Acquired 2022
JUUL device, angled view
A JUUL e-cigarette

Juul

A sleek nicotine device. For kids!

Open exhibit
RIAV 010Donated 2009
Front view of the Spalding New Ball
A Spalding composite "New Ball"

Spalding Synthetic Basketball

Proof that a bad redesign is the one thing that can unite NBA players.

Open exhibit
RIAV 011Acquired 2022
Lehman Brothers seal, star view
Four Lehman Brothers corporate seals circa 2008

Lehman Brothers

Stamps for documents that didn't last long.

Open exhibit
RIAV 012Acquired 2022
Pets.com sock puppet, angled view
A Pets.com sock puppet

Pets.com

The dot-com bubble came with good mascots.

Open exhibit
RIAV 013Acquired 2021
uBiome kit contents together
A uBiome SmartFlu kit

uBiome

Gut science, billing science, marital secrecy.

Open exhibit
RIAV 014Donated 2025
Framed drawing by Anna Delvey
A framed drawing by Anna Delvey

Anna Delvey

A piece of post(?)-scam artwork.

Open exhibit
RIAV 015
Abstract painting by John Hinckley Jr.
"Modern Life" by John Hinckley Jr.

John Hinckley Jr.

A painting by a would-be assassin.

Open exhibit
RIAV 016Donated 2023
Black-and-white portrait photograph of Bernie Madoff
A 1988 Bernie Madoff portrait by Yousuf Karsh

Bernie Madoff

A photo from before the fall.

Open exhibit
RIAV 017Donated 2025
Photos coming soon
A First Republic-branded umbrella

First Republic

Confidence, embroidered.

Open exhibit
RIAV 018
Folded pair of Fyre Fest sweatpants
A pair of Fyre Festival sweatpants

Fyre Fest

Luxury-disaster loungewear that came with a cheese sandwich.

Open exhibit
RIAV 019Acquired 2025
CueCat barcode scanner in its packaging
A CueCat barcode scanner in its packaging

CueCat

Why type a URL if you can awkwardly scan one?

Open exhibit
RIAV 020Acquired 2025
Friend pendant box
A Friend wearable pendant

Friend AI pendant

An AI companion gadget with no companionship.

Open exhibit
RIAV 021Acquired 2025
MoviePass membership card
A MoviePass membership card

MoviePass

A relic from the subscription miracle that let me buy dollars for 99 cents.

Open exhibit
RIAV 022Acquired 2025
Rabbit R1 in its box
A Rabbit r1 handheld device

Rabbit R1

The future of personal computing for about two days.

Open exhibit
RIAV 023Acquired 2025
Humane AI pin on its charging dock
A Humane AI Pin with charging dock

Humane AI

Also the future of personal computing for about two days.

Open exhibit
RIAV 024Donated 2025
Two MicroStrategy-branded bags shown side by side
Two MicroStrategy-branded bags

MicroStrategy

Bags to hold your bitcoin bags.

Open exhibit
RIAV 025
Exxon Valdez oil spill report and oil sample
Oil from the spill and the report to the president

Exxon Valdez

An oily daily brief.

Open exhibit
RIAV 026
Milli Vanilli tour book
Milli Vanilli tour book, record, and concert ticket

Milli Vanilli

Lip-syncing, professionally amplified.

Open exhibit
RIAV 027
Photograph of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan skating
Photograph of Tonya and Nancy on ice together after the scandal

Tonya Harding

A photo finish after the injury.

Open exhibit
RIAV 028
White Autonomy-branded soccer jersey
Autonomy.com soccer jerseys

Autonomy

Enterprise software, promotional sportswear, and an $8.8 billion writedown.

Open exhibit
RIAV 029
Lay's WOW potato chip tote bag
Lay's potato chip tote

Lay's WOW

Fat-free chips with unusually specific fine print.

Open exhibit
RIAV 030
First issue of George magazine
The first and last issues of George magazine

George magazine

Celebrity politics before it was chic.

Open exhibit
RIAV 031
WorldCom-branded watch in its case
A WorldCom-branded watch

WorldCom

A watch from a company that lost track.

Open exhibit
RIAV 032
Volkswagen emissions repair kit
Repair kit from the emissions scandal

Volkswagen emissions scandal

Clean diesel, dirty software.

Open exhibit
RIAV 033
Photos coming soon
A pair of Allbirds shoes

Allbirds

From wool runners to GPU runners.

Open exhibit