How Did You Do That?

Ralph Kauten is a true serial entrepreneur. He co-founded two life sciences companies that sold for a combined $200-plus million and was involved very early in three more. The biggest of those, Promega , has about $450 million of revenue and operations around the world. Kauten’s entrepreneurial experience was built on a series of decisions that took him out of the comfort zone into the unknown. His inclination was to take calculated risks and his guiding philosophy was to understand where the market was going and find the best way his companies could fit in. "If you're entrepreneurial you'll recognize the fact that, jee, maybe these people would buy those tools and they could spend their time focusing on research as opposed to making the tools they need to conduct the research," Kauten explains. Madison, Wis., has become known in the last few decades as a startup-friendly town, and Kauten is one of the big contributors to that reputation. Ralph's startup roster: Promega: Founded 1978;