The Story

Jamie Siminoff is the founder of Ring, a home security company that produces smart doorbells and security cameras. His journey to selling Ring to Amazon is quite inspiring, full of hard work, determination, and a lot of resilience.

Starting Out

Jamie Siminoff was always an entrepreneur at heart. In fact, before Ring, he had started several other companies. One of them was Unsubscribe.com, a service that helped people manage their email subscriptions, which he sold in 2011. His entrepreneurial journey did not stop there, however.

In 2012, working in his garage in Los Angeles, Siminoff found that he couldn't hear the doorbell from his workspace. Seeing this as a problem that needed a solution, he began to work on a new idea: a smart doorbell that would let you see and talk to visitors from your phone, no matter where you were.

Creating Ring

He named the product DoorBot and spent about a year developing it. DoorBot was a Wi-Fi-enabled video doorbell that allowed homeowners to see and speak with visitors at their door from anywhere in the world through their smartphones. Siminoff invested all of his savings into the project, and by 2013, he had a prototype ready.

In November 2013, Siminoff appeared on the popular TV show "Shark Tank," seeking $700,000 for a 10% stake in his company. Unfortunately, none of the "sharks" took the bait, and he left without an investment. Despite the setback, Siminoff remained determined and continued to push his product.

Following the "Shark Tank" appearance, DoorBot sales picked up, bringing in around $3 million in revenue. In 2014, Siminoff decided to rebrand DoorBot to Ring, as he believed this name better represented the company's mission of reducing crime in neighborhoods.

Growing Ring and Amazon's Acquisition

Ring continued to grow and innovate, expanding its product line to include other home security devices. By 2016, the company had raised over $200 million in investments and was valued at around $1 billion. Ring's products were sold in thousands of stores and used by millions of people around the world.

In February 2018, Amazon acquired Ring for an estimated $1.1 billion, marking one of the largest tech deals of the year. The acquisition made sense for Amazon, which had been investing heavily in smart home technology and was already selling Ring products on its platform.

For Siminoff, the acquisition was a validation of his vision and hard work. Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, he managed to build a billion-dollar company from a simple idea.

Lessons from Jamie

1. See problems as opportunities: The idea for Ring came from Siminoff's personal experience with a problem - not being able to hear the doorbell from his garage. Instead of merely solving it for himself, he saw it as a business opportunity and developed a solution for others facing the same issue.

2. Be resilient: Siminoff faced a major rejection when he appeared on "Shark Tank" and didn't secure an investment. However, he didn't let this discourage him. He continued to work hard and believe in his product, which eventually led to his success.

3. Rebrand if necessary: Siminoff originally launched his product under the name DoorBot, but he later rebranded it to Ring. This showed his willingness to pivot and make changes when necessary for the success of his company.

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