Evolution Of The Design
To start, I cut an ibuprofen bottle with a larger diameter than the spice bottle in half; I knew this would leave adequate room for the silicone to grip around the bottle. I carefully placed the magnets into the bottom of the severed ibuprofen bottle, rested the spice bottle on top of them, and proceeded to inject the silicone around the spice bottle. The ibuprofen bottle actually served as a decent mold; one hour later I had my first MagGrip. Although it needed improvements, it was usable AND diverse as I could interchange 90% of the bottles in my pantry in the grip. The flexibility of the silicone was working better than I could have imagined; upon placing prescription bottles in the grip, I realized the many adaptations for other small household bottles. (Figure 1)
As the exploration continued, I thought about the magnetic cell phone holders that people have in their cars. You know the ones… you stick the metal plate on the back of your phone and the other part hooks into your AC vent in your car. I needed to find the perfect amount of magnetism so that MagGrip could support heavier glass bottles. The silicone aspect created the flexibility to adapt to an abundance of vessels, but I still needed to find the right amount of magnetism. I thought it would be clever to apply the car phone adapter with the magnets to the bottom of a spice bottle and apply the metal plate to just about anything. I retrieved my magnetic cell phone holder from my car and started disassembling it. I created the first “prototype” by gluing the magnetic section to the bottom of a spice bottle. Then, I applied the metal plate that usually goes on the back of your phone to the underside of my cabinets above the counter. At this point, the prototype was diverse and had strong magnetic ability. (Figure 2)
The next step was perfecting the design and finding the best possible mixture of silicone; it became a total obsession. I enlisted one of my best friends, Edward Stettinious, who is one of the most talented engineers I know, to start drawing the MagGrip in CAD so the design could be perfected in 3D. We used his UV printer to create injectable molds. It was critical to find the right flexibility, tear strength and texture so we started experimenting with different silicones. After five different molds and 17 different versions of MagGrip, we had our first sample production run. (Figure 3)
Upon receiving the first production samples, we realized that the base needed to be more flexible so that when the MagGrip got bumped, it would snap back into place. This realization is what led to the most significant technology behind MagGrip - the feet. The feet flex to keep the MagGrip in position when knocked into and will contour to uneven surfaces; this was a breakthrough for the product and the second and third versions were improved and produced. When we finally received the final product samples, we fell in love with the MagGrips. Anyone who came to our homes almost instantly questioned, “Wait, what is that???” and walked to investigate it; when they began begging to buy them from us, we knew we were onto something. When I officially formed MagGrip, I brought my brother, Jack Macsherry, on as a partner. We filed for a trademark and a patent. We found a great supplier to work with and perfected the packaging. After over two years, we were finally ready to launch MagGrip.
OUR BACKGROUND
I was born into a family of entrepreneurs. My father is an incredibly talented artist and my mother is a studio jeweler who has built an incredible business. I grew up watching them work tirelessly around the clock… constantly forming new ideas and bringing them into fruition in their studios. Although often stressed, they supported each other and thrived together in their creative processes and were ultimately proud of and passionate about their work. Watching them grind so hard and succeed was so inspirational; it wasn’t about the money, it was having control of and owning your own decisions that I found infinitely rewarding. My first job was as a stock boy in a country store in northern Maryland. At twelve years old, I treated that store like I owned it; I was so passionate about the future of the business that I was nearly overstepping. Since I could never work a job without obsessing over its success, I knew that I would never be satisfied working for someone else and I had to form my own businesses.
With such creative parents, I grew up inventing things, riding dirt bikes, working on cars when I was seven, and eventually learning to weld when I was 10. Throughout high school and college, I would create tools or gadgets and flip them for extra cash. After graduating from college, I moved in with my grandmother in Florida and landed a job as an exploratory diver; I was soon designing and building underwater excavation equipment. I then moved back to Maryland for a couple years where I started making custom metal artwork and furniture with my neighbor and wholesaling it at a store in downtown Baltimore. Soon enough, we were making unique candles and retailing them in his local bar; the candles sold so well we started a wholesale/retail candle company. At 25 years old, this was my first official experience as a business owner; now at 33, I own three product-related businesses.. Inventing is an obsession for me; I wake up with ideas in the middle of the night and get to work. The only thing more exciting than a new idea or invention is seeing people enjoy your ideas. Not all of them have been good ones, but you laugh and get past it because up from the ashes grow the roses of success.
One part of what makes this particular venture so unique and exciting is that my brother and business partner, Jack, (25) is now a business owner at the same age that I became one. Starting and growing a business together is indescribably exciting and fun. He grew up watching mom and dad just like I did, and there is no one I would rather have on this venture with me. MagGrip is still 100% family run; Mom and Dad are in on every call and every decision. We are beyond excited to share this creation and see how people utilize and enjoy their MagGrips. We made our slogan “MagGrip Your Way” because there are no rules or boundaries with this product; it’s inventive, sleek, and utilitarian.
