Stuart Jamieson
Business Plan-winning Technology Monitors Aquariums Across the Country
With a background in physics and software development, Stuart Jamieson entered the MBA Program with a plan to start his own company. “I felt if I had my MBA, I would be ready to start a company when the opportunity came along," Jamieson explained. “What I found was the ability to create opportunity." Jamieson met UW PhD chemistry student Roni Kopelman, through the MBA Program’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). After winning $30,000 in prizes at the CIE 2004 Business Plan Competition, Jamieson and Kopelman decided their continuous pH test meter was more than a winner on paper, it was the catalyst to launch a new company — AquaStasis.
Jamieson used knowledge from nearly every MBA class to start the business. “ This company wouldn’t exist without CIE and the UW," he affirmed. Research showed the continuous meter filled a gap in the aquarium market and the company had access to manufacturers that could produce the product in high volumes. “Seattle is a great town for making stuff — there are industrial design experts as well as manufacturing brokers who can set up large scale production," said Jamieson.
AquaStasis decided to pitch the technology to industry players who already had access to sales channels. “I used all my MBA learning putting together a sales presentation and business plan that showed how they would benefit," Jamieson explained. He found a superb match with Virbac, an international pet and animal health products company. Virbac bought the pH test meter technology and pushed AquaStasis to develop a companion NH 3 meter that monitors aquarium ammonia levels. Sold under the Mardel brand, the LivepH and LiveNH 3 Test Meters are available at PetSmart and Petco locations. Now that products are on shelves, what’s next for Jamieson? “It’s up to us to innovate," he continued optimistically. “I see growing opportunities — the entrepreneurial community here is thriving."