Every superhero has an origin story, and so does every super-product. The Magzipp is no exception to this rule. The arc of idea, struggle, despair, rebirth, and success is fully represented in the product and its founder, Jerry Williams. So how did the best AR-15 speed loader come to be, and how did the founder come up with the idea to make it a multi-magazine speed loader? Well, the mother of invention is necessity – and to Jerry Williams, spending more time shooting and less time loading meant he needed a high-volume magazine loading system that would give him faster magazine loading so he could load faster and shoot more.
“The worst part of your range day is spending more time loading and less time shooting,” said Williams. “My thumbs would get beat up, my hands get sore, and it just takes a lot of the fun out of range day, not to mention wasted time.”
But getting to his dream of making the best product in its category would be a much longer journey, including many obstacles – downtime and triumphs he could never have imagined – and, as it turns out, he would also need a little help along the way.
Eleven Years Ago, Jerry Williams Thought He Had Lost His Shot
He had an invention, a working prototype, and a dream of turning it into a business. He had even taken the early steps toward making it happen. Then his father died.
The money that had been helping Williams pursue his idea disappeared along with his father, but the loss was more than financial. Williams lost the person who had believed in him, the motivation to keep going, and, eventually, the dream itself. For more than a decade, Magzipp sat on the shelf.
Then, almost by accident, someone asked Williams a simple question: whatever happened to Magzipp? That question started a chain of events that Williams now sees as something much bigger than coincidence.
A Problem Worth Solving
Williams grew up in Florida and moved to California when he was 9. After high school, he joined the Navy. Later, he worked a series of jobs, including at an auto-body shop, where he developed a knack for working with his hands and became comfortable with materials such as duct tape and body filler. He also became interested in firearms.
While shooting in California, Williams encountered a problem that frustrated him repeatedly: at the time, California's magazine restrictions meant he was limited to 10 rounds at a time. “I reloaded more than I shot,” Williams recalled.
He eventually saw a wooden speed loader demonstrated online – a simple device that could load ammunition into a magazine with the push of another piece of wood. Williams immediately thought he could improve it. “I could build that better,” he remembered thinking. So he did.
Using wood, composites, and body filler, Williams built his first Magzipp prototype from scratch, and became convinced the device could work commercially. There was only one problem: turning the homemade prototype into a manufactured product was going to cost far more money than Williams had.
By the time he had a patent, a website, and a prototype ready, a manufacturer estimated that the mold alone would cost about $70,000, with an initial production run of at least 2,000 units. The total investment could easily exceed $100,000. Williams didn't have it.
His father had been helping support the dream, but his health was failing. A retired Air Force veteran and diabetic amputee who was on dialysis, Williams' father eventually entered hospice care. Then he died. With his father's death came the loss of the financial support that had been keeping Magzipp alive. Williams walked away.
The Long Detour
For the next 11 years, Magzipp became little more than a memory. Williams eventually moved into a different life. His mother owned a jewelry business, and she helped him start his own mall-cart operation. Williams ran that business for about 10 years, working long days and rarely taking a day off.
Then he met his future wife. Eventually, he decided he wanted a different career and moved into corrections, later transitioning to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Magzipp was still buried somewhere in the past.
Then one day, a close friend and Williams' wife's cousin asked him about it. “Whatever happened to Magzipp?” the friend asked. Williams already knew the answer – he had given up on it. But the question stayed with him.
Now Williams had a steady career and some financial security. Maybe, his friend suggested, it was time to pursue the invention again. That was all it took. The old dream came back to life.
Williams went online and began looking for help. He found Ideal Strategic Partners (ISP) and submitted information about Magzipp. The response came quickly: they liked the invention, but they wanted to see it working. Williams told them he could build another prototype.
The original was still back in California, so he went to Home Depot, bought materials, and built a new version. ISP reviewed the prototype and told Williams the concept had potential, but they thought the original design was outdated. Williams wasn't ready to hear no. He went back to the store, bought another batch of materials, went home, made improvements, and sent the new prototype to ISP. This time, the response was different: they believed the idea could work.
The price for moving forward was about $135,000. Williams laughed – but he made the first payment and began moving forward anyway. He still needed another $60,000, and after weeks of asking, his mother agreed to give him the money.
Williams took the money and immediately used it to keep Magzipp moving. By then, ISP had spent nearly eight months looking for a willing factory to produce the product. An American manufacturer estimated that getting production started in the United States could cost nearly $300,000 – money Williams didn't have.
Eventually, ISP came back with an answer: they had found another factory, named Catalyst, that would do it for less. The factory needed six molds to produce Magzipp. Williams could afford only five – and the factory agreed to pay for the sixth themselves because they believed in the product.
From the Garage to the Market
Once production began, Magzipp was still a long way from being a major company. The factory wanted an initial order of 2,000 units; Williams negotiated that down to 500. Those first 500 units arrived at his house, and for roughly three months, his garage became the company's warehouse and shipping department. Williams bought boxes and packed orders himself.
The first 500 units sold in less than three months. The next shipment grew to 1,100 units – too large for the garage, so ISP allowed Williams to use one of its third-party logistics providers to handle fulfillment. Magzipp has since sold out of its initial order and received a second shipment, with sales going strong.
The dream that died with his father has become a real business. Williams isn't pretending Magzipp has arrived – he sees the company as being at the beginning. He's active across social media and focused on building the brand, increasing sales, and eventually growing production. For now, he's grateful simply to have made it this far.
The journey from prototype to commercial product took decades. It included a failed attempt at manufacturing, the death of his father, a decade spent running a jewelry business, a career in corrections and law enforcement, a forgotten invention, a friend's question, and a new prototype that finally made it to market.
“I know something good's going to happen from this for everybody,” Williams said.
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