Joel Matlin, a seasoned Canadian entrepreneur, has founded and led several successful companies, including Frisco Bay Industries, AlarmForce Industries, and Think Protection.

In 1990, during a trip to Asia, Matlin purchased a suit and received an automatic buckle belt as a token of appreciation from the tailor. This sparked his interest in automatic buckle belts, commonly used in China. Over the years, he acquired many such belts, sharing them with friends and family.

In 2020, after hosting a national radio show in Canada where he interviewed numerous entrepreneurs, Matlin was inspired to start an internet-based business. Encouraged by his wife, who reminded him of his long-standing appreciation for automatic buckle belts, he founded ZippyBelts™ in 2021.

Leveraging his experience with patents in the electronics industry, Matlin aimed to enhance existing Asian buckle technology to cater specifically to the corporate promotional market. This led to the creation of ZippyBelts™, designed to reflect prestigious brands in both sports and business contexts.

And now ZippyBelts™ is bringing the ratchet belts to new heights in North America with their patent pending designs.

During his market research, Matlin observed that some U.S. companies had patented various iterations of automatic or ratchet belts, despite their prevalence in Asia since the 1990s. He perceived these patents as tactics to limit competition, given the belts’ longstanding presence in Asian markets and worn by Americans locally.