MC supporting startup business on campus

Dec. 5, 2018

Sitting amongst a montage of technical laboratory equipment on the second floor of Maryville College’s Sutton Science Center, one can find Mike Goodrich ’92, owner and president of the start-up business Cornerstone Analytical Laboratories (CAL).

Since August of 2016, CAL has operated as a contract-testing and method-development facility that performs unique yet necessary tests for pharmaceutical, dietary, manufacturing, academic and chemical research industries.

If it were not for the College’s Division of Natural Sciences, Goodrich’s company may not exist today. Goodrich said it definitely would not be as successful.

“Cornerstone Analytical has doubled in sales volume in both of the last two years, and we also have expanded our technical capabilities, adding to the list of services we are able to offer,” Goodrich said.

With a recommendation from Dr. Nathan Duncan, assistant professor of chemistry, the College offered Goodrich a share of unused chemistry lab space and the opportunity for CAL to develop into a viable and fruitful company.

“I acted as a liaison and helped to define and describe the agreement between Cornerstone Analytical and Maryville College,” Duncan said. “[Goodrich] gets space in Sutton, we get access to his equipment, he works as a part-time employee for the purpose of helping students, and he can use some of our instruments for commercial use.”

For Goodrich, CAL’s beginning also included a return to a building in which he spent countless hours as a chemistry major.

“I had a great experience at Maryville and have leveraged the skills I developed here to be in a place where I can launch and operate my own lab,” he said. “I thought I was finished with late nights in Sutton, but I really enjoy being back on campus. I get to assist with Senior Studies, and I don’t have to worry about deadlines and letter grades.”

Click here to read the full article from MCNews.