Entrepreneurship in the Valley: Bethlehem's EcoTech Marine

With its headquarters tucked in the humble town of Bethlehem, Pa., the highly successful aquarium supply company EcoTech Marine stands as an unexpected symbol of entrepreneurial success in the Lehigh Valley. With over 500 stores carrying its products in over 30 countries, EcoTech Marine was named one of Inc. 500’s fastest growing companies of 2010, earning $6.7 million in revenue in 2011 alone. EcoTech Marine has broken free of the constraints of the recession-stinted economy, standing as proof of the success that can come from diligence and perseverance.

“To be an entrepreneur, I would recommend that you just need to follow your passion,” said Pat Clasen, EcoTech co-founder and Director of Finance. “Engineering or science…if it’s aquariums, if it’s music, you can follow that and it can lead you to a career.”

With EcoTech Marine, Clasen and his team proved just that. In 2003, Clasen and his Lehigh University fraternity brother Tim Marks teamed up with Oklahoma State University student Justin Lawyer, looking to find innovative ways to improve the “aquascape” for which they all had a passion. Originally a small venture of Marks and Lawyer, EcoTech Marine stemmed from the duo’s shared love for fish and reef tanks.

Soon after Clasen joined the team, the company’s first prototype, the alkalinity and calcium-balancing Kalkwasser Reactor, was born.

Looking for additional funding for their project, Clasen—a material science and Engineering major—heard about Lehigh’s Integrated Product Development program, which was accepting applications for its “Invitation to Innovate” contest. The Reactor won the competition, earning EcoTech $2,000 and the opportunity to work with IPD students to continue to develop its products.

In their sophomore year, Clasen and Marks applied for a National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance grant, receiving $8,380 in funding for prototyping, according to NCIIA website. Devoting a hefty chunk of time to the company through their time in graduate school at Lehigh, Clasey and Marks were able to experiment with and expand EcoTech’s reach in the aquarium market.

“Our first product really didn’t take off,” said Clasen. “It wasn’t until our second product took off and then we had to go through lots of different changes and integrations and improvements…our first 300 units pretty much all failed out of the box and it was through working through that and not giving up…that got us to where we are.”

EcoTech’s second, more successful product was the VorTech MP40 pump, and it is still one of the company’s most successful products today, almost a decade later. The innovative tank pump features a low-profile, safe and efficient design that has earned the company and the extended VorTech line a slew of accolades and success.

“The basic innovation is having a motor on the outside of the aquarium and a propeller on the inside of the aquarium, using magnets to couple the two halves together,” explained Clasen. “That idea got us very far within the industry, and there are very significant benefits to having that so that really got us into the market. But it’s that innovative mindset and that ability to create products with the user experience in mind that’s really allowed us to thrive.”

The unique, eco-friendly design of the pump keeps wires—and therefore heat—out of the tank, requiring less electricity to cool the aquarium’s water. Inspired by nature, the pump creates a natural undertow along the sand bed in the tank, keeping the aquarium’s ecosystem healthier than a standard pump.

“If you continue to try and continue to find new ways to fail, you’re going to find that success. We were a little lucky that our second ‘failure’ kind of turned into a success. So when you look at entrepreneurs around the world, everyone fails but it’s those who don’t give up, those who continue to try and continue to innovate are the ones that succeed.”

In May 2008, according the EcoTech Marine website, the VorTech MP40 earned the team a prestigious Innovation Award from the Ben Franklin Technology partners of Lehigh University. Different versions of the VorTech pump, built to serve smaller and larger tanks than the MP40, have also earned Reefbuilders.com and Marine Depot “Best Aquarium Product of the Year” awards.

EcoTech’s most recent product, the Radion XR30w LED lighting system, has also proved successful; in Jan. 2012, Reefbuilders.com named the product the winner of the 2011 LED Showdown.

Clasen explained his two-pronged philosophy on the company’s booming success.

“What I always say is if you’re interested in creating products, if you’re interested in becoming an entrepreneur, who need to do two things—you need to find your passion and you need to never give up.”

Stressing the integral support that EcoTech received from Lehigh and the Valley at the start of the venture, Clasen also spoke to the company’s commitment to the local economy and the Lehigh community.

“Right now we’ve got about 30 full-time EcoTech employees, so we’re reinvesting into the area. We also have manufacturing firms that come from the Lehigh Valley, so from that perspective we contribute back. We also go back and sponsor IPD ourselves—we sponsor teams every year, so that’s generating new products and it’s kind of coming full circle.”

Follow EcoTech on Twitter @EcoTechMarine or visit their Facebook page.