Case student entrepreneur provides big savings by lauching Superior Scientific, an online lab supply company
Business plan was created as project for university’s Biotech Entrepreneurship Program
December 22, 2004 | For more information: Susan Griffith (216)-368-1004
Christian Marin, a second-year student in Case Western Reserve University’s Biotech Entrepreneurship Program, will graduate next May with his master’s degree and leave Case as the head of Superior Scientific, an online laboratory supply company he created.
 Marin created a business plan for the company in February as part of his course work for the Institute for Technology Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (InTICE), an interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Weatherhead School of Management. Out of that plan, he formed a partnership with three Case alumni and only a few short months later, the group launched Superior Scientific with 25 essential laboratory items.
The meteoric rise—and now success—has caught Marin by surprise. From its initial offerings of lab essentials including gloves, centrifuge tubes and pipette tips, the online supplier now offers more than 300 items and continues augmenting its inventories. The company also has garnered an exclusive Ohio distributorship and is currently the only company in the United States that distributes a new genetic mutation kit from Trimgen, a Maryland company.
Launching a company like Superior Scientific or a new product from an established company is a requirement of Case’s two-year entrepreneurship programs, which combine business training with specific science courses.
“Christian’s success illustrates the impact our science entrepreneurship programs can have,” said Cyrus Taylor, co-director of InTICE and professor of physics. “Trained at the intersections of science and entrepreneurship, the students are always alert to ways in which things can be made better and more efficient—and able to bring that change about if it makes financial sense.”
“Without the program, I would have had no idea how or where to start a business,” said Marin.
He entered the entrepreneurship program at Case after earning his bachelor of science in molecular biology in 2003 from the Florida Institute of Technology. Because he wanted to pursue a science career in the industrial setting instead of the campus research lab, Marin found the Case program ideal for his career goals.
After joining the first class in the Case biology department’s entrepreneurship program, Marin began looking for a business niche where he could integrate his science background.
Working in labs that need essential supplies used by almost everyone, Marin saw his opportunity and created a business plan that proposed a company that could stock labs with essential supplies while saving as much as 40 percent over the costs of the major laboratory suppliers. The company also provides specific and tailored needs for its customers.
By going online at www.superior-scientific.com and using Google to reach his business audience, Marin saved major upstart costs and eliminated giveaway catalogues and other marketing materials. He added that the Internet allows him to remain dynamic and gives the company the flexibility to tap into a worldwide market. The results have been orders from all over the country, including several labs in California, a hub for the biotech industry, where customers pay Marin’s product and shipping costs, and still save on their overall purchase.
According to Marin’s business research, Superior Scientific competes against several lab supply Goliaths that offer as many 500,000 lab items. This competition does not daunt Marin, who streamlined inventories by selectively targeting his customers and their specific needs and searching for the suppliers who can best fill their orders. For Cleveland area laboratories, Superior Scientific guarantees same-day delivery.
Marin, who is from San Jose, Costa Rica, plans to remain in Cleveland after completing the Case entrepreneurship program and continue to build Superior Scientific.
About Case Western Reserve University
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and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
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