Karl T. Ulrich won the ovarian lottery. He was born in 1960, a boy, in Boston, to two healthy, college-educated parents who stayed married and read to their children. He was not the smartest of the five. Whether from birth order, DNA, or both, he finishes what he starts, which has been worth more than it should be. About eighty percent of his venture investments went to zero, and the portfolio has roughly matched an index fund.
He is the CIBC Professor at the Wharton School and a co-founder of Xootr, Terrapass, Belle-V Kitchen, and MakerStock. He is also an author of Product Design and Development, Innovation Tournaments, Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society, The Innovation Tournament Handbook, Winning in China, China Speed, and The Hundred-Year Chair.