Built on an idea and an entrepreneurial spirit, founder Jamie Siminoff worked diligently to turn Ring into a billion-dollar company in just six short years.
Considering the home security industry was already saturated when Ring entered the equation in 2012, calling this trajectory a “ mean feat” even seems to cheapen it.
This is extraordinary vision and tenacity. How did he do it? You’re about to find out now.
What Is Ring?
If you’ve ever spoken to a friend through their doorbell then there’s a very good chance it was via a Ring doorbell.
Their modern home security system which allows homeowners to see and speak to whoever is at their door (even if they’re not at home) is considered a game-changer in the doorbell industry.
How do they do this? Through the gift of smartphones and the internet, of course.
Formally known as Ring’s Smart Video Doorbell, this impressive product has an in-built app known as “Neighbors”, which captures footage for online social sharing.
This footage can also be shared with local law enforcement agencies instantly. Bringing the idea of neighborhood watch online and into the modern world.
Who Owns Ring Now?
A skyrocketing company like Ring doesn’t go unnoticed for long, and can you guess which multinational had its eye on them? If you answered Amazon, then you got it in one.
Amazon acquired Ring in February of 2018 for a cool $1.1 Billion, making Jamie Siminoff an incredibly rich man.
We must say that Amazon owning Ring does make sense as it is Amazon that delivers Ring cameras right across the U.S and the world.
Amazon delivery drivers also benefit from this smartphone technology, because, in a sense, homeowners are (hopefully) always contactable. This, in turn, saves homeowners and drivers both a lot of time and energy.
Ring supports Amazon’s Alexa and Echo Dot apps to provide a safer home.
Amazon has helped Ring expand its customer base to become one of the biggest providers of smart home security systems in the world.
Through its connections and buying power, Amazon has also managed to bring the price of a Ring smart doorbell down to a super competitive $59.
Jamie Siminoff could have never dreamed of his product selling for such a low price when it was first priced at $199.
This has meant that the product is now accessible to more families and, subsequently, will help them to keep their homes safe and secure.
How Did Ring Start?
Ring was founded by entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff in 2012.
Originally, he went with the name DoorBot but after an unsuccessful run at securing investment on the hit tv show “Shark Tank”, he went back to the drawing board and got hungrier than ever to make his dream a reality.
Ring sounded far less techie and, unsurprisingly, had a nice “ring” to it, so he went with that and soon thereafter secured investment.
The idea stemmed from a real-world problem of forever missing delivery men at the front door while he was working away, head down, in the garage.
He complained about never hearing the doorbell ring, and instead of continuing to complain, Jamie set out to do something about it.
After searching for a product that could connect his phone to his doorbell and finding no such product, what does a tech-centric entrepreneur do?
He only went and invented a prototype doorbell that would initially make his life easier and eventually make him a billionaire.
Not only did Jamie’s Wi-Fi-compatible doorbell make his life easier, but it made his wife’s life safer.
Allowing her to see who was at the door without having to answer gave her a greater sense of safety when Jamie was off promoting his product.
Nowadays, safety is the primary reason why Ring has become such an invaluable part of people’s homes as they are able to see who is at their door and on their property at all times of the day.
Is Jamie Siminoff Still Ring’s CEO?
Unlike a lot of the world’s biggest multinationals, Amazon has a history of letting a company’s original founders and managers continue to do their thing.
This strategy is a clever one as who better to run a company than the person who built it, from the ground up, with their own blood, sweat, and tears?
Jamie, therefore, has remained the active CEO of Ring from its inception until now. A born inventor, he is forever thinking about and creating new products to sell under the Ring brand.
Products that are currently in the pipeworks include a Ring car alarm as well as a home security drone that checks for intruders from a bird’s eye view.
Jamie will be the first one to tell you that little has changed for him and his development team now that they work for Amazon.
It’s always nice to hear that the passionate person who started a company is allowed to keep doing what they’re doing after a sale of this magnitude, just with an infinitely bigger reach than before.
What Set Jamie Siminoff Apart From Other Budding Entrepreneurs?
Although Jamie Siminoff is a visionary, he didn’t let his vision get in the way of his product.
One of the ways that Jamie honed in on exactly what his customers were thinking is by putting his own private email on the Ring Doorbell box.
Although this isn’t the case anymore, this was a critical step in realizing what worked about his product and how he could tweak it to be better.
This ethos of being open to change and always challenging himself and his products to be better has always been important for Jamie.
More evidence of this came when Siminoff decided to ditch his original product name “Doorbot” after an unsuccessful attempt at securing investment on Shark Tank.
Brainstorming
A master of brainstorming, Jamie is forever thinking of problems that his customers (who he likes to call his “neighbors”) have, and how best to solve them.
Through his intrepid market research, Jamie came to the conclusion that accessible home security shouldn’t start and finish at the front door.
He realized that it should protect a home’s entire perimeter, which is why he developed an alarm system that protects the entire home.
Inclusion
A quote from the man himself states “I like to say we have hundreds of CEOs at Ring and I encourage everyone to show ownership in whatever they’re doing. I’m not a micro-manager”.
This precipice of putting creative control and responsibility onto his employees in the hope to better the company and their position in it is genuine, and, again, it produces great results across the board.
Travel
Jamie Siminoff is a big advocate for travel as a precursor for inspiration. Even with his busy schedule, Jamie will make sure he blocks out time for trips away from his day-to-day.
He believes it is one of the most critical thinking tools he can give himself for coming up with new ideas as an inventor.
When he travels, he doesn’t go to visit a place with his work laptop and phone in tow, oh no. Jamie makes sure to keep his work at an arm’s length while away as this gives him maximum time for inspiration and zero time for distractions.
Daily Jogging
Even the pandemic putting a sudden halt on all non-essential travel couldn’t put a halt on Jamie’s quest for inspiration, far from it in fact.
Jogging every day became his new way of sniffing out inspiration and he now accredits it as his “best return on investment”.
In just a 30-minute run, Jamie describes himself getting “back to center” by detaching from daily stresses and opening the door for that next big idea to come flooding in.
Learned From His Elders
Having grown up in Chester New Jersey, and studying entrepreneurship at Babson College, Jamie had seemingly mapped out his life well before he could foresee an exact path.
His father was a big inspiration in his early years. He ran a fast-paced factory that made pipes. He was always incredibly hardworking and diligent and Jamie always endeavored to learn about life and business from his dad.
Another huge inspiration for Jamie on entrepreneurial terms is the great English inventor Sir James Dyson, you might have heard of him?
A master innovator and creator, Sir James Dyson could project into the future and solve his customer’s problems five to ten years ahead.
It takes a stroke or two of genius to not only invent new household products, but also build a global brand, and that’s exactly what Sir James Dyson sort of did.
What Products Does Ring Currently Sell?
On top of their signature, world-famous video doorbell, Ring now sells six other types of doorbells plus a whole host of security cameras, smart lighting, and security systems.
This has made the company a dominant force in the entire home security industry. People now know and trust the name Ring, and we’re predicting that their success is only going to grow as time goes on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can A Ring Doorbell Be Stolen?
Unfortunately, theft of Ring doorbells is a problem. As a direct result of their demand, price tag, and success, they have become a rather attractive product to steal.
Luckily, Ring has one-upped potential thieves by creating an anti-theft mount to ward off any and all thieves of the night.
If you don’t fit your Ring doorbell with an anti-theft mount, then all it takes is for a few screws to be unscrewed and the wiring to be ripped out and you can say bye-bye to your beloved doorbell.
Do You Need Wi-Fi for A Ring Doorbell?
Although most Ring doorbells require Wi-Fi to function, the company has recently brought to market their Ring Doorbell Elite and Ring Stick-Up Cam Elite models that don’t require Wi-Fi to work.
Through the power of PoE (Power over Ethernet), these high-end doorbells have skipped the reliance on Wi-Fi.
Through an Ethernet cable cord (which is a more reliable internet source), the unit is delivered both power and internet.
However, as you can probably tell by their elitist names, these models don’t come cheap and they are considered the premium choice of Ring doorbells.
Conclusion
So there you have it. From humble beginnings, Ring has become a leader of home security not just in America but across much of the western world.
With Amazon now in ownership, Jamie Siminoff and his band of merry innovators are eager to keep breaking down new ground in the home security industry and keep their “neighbors” safe.
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