Amazon Ring’s founder is back as CEO with a hard pivot to AI. How Jamie Siminoff went from ‘Shark Tank’ reject to $1 billion brand
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Ring’s founder wants to get the company back to his original vision.
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July 17, 2025
06:28 PM
Fortune
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Success·RingAmazon Ring’s founder is back as CEO with a hard pivot to AI
However, How Jamie Siminoff went from ‘Shark Tank’ reject to $1 billion brandBy Sydney LakeBy Sydney LakeAssociate EditorSydney LakeAssociate EditorSydney Lake is an associate editor at Fortune, where she writes and edits news for the publication's global news desk, amid market uncertainty
In contrast, SEE FULL BIO Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring
Getty Images—Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile for Web SummitJamie Siminoff pitched Doorbot, a smart doorbell, on Shark Tank in 2013, but none of the Sharks saw enough potential to invest in it
Despite this rejection, Siminoff rebranded Doorbot as Ring, leveraged publicity and new investors, and ultimately sold the company to Amazon for $1 billion
Today, Ring is installed in millions of s and seen as one of Shark Tank‘s most minent “misses, given the current landscape
Additionally, ” Few major success stories come without a bout of rejection
Take Amazon’s Ring, given the current landscape
The -security brand first came into the limelight when founder Jamie Siminoff pitched the duct on Shark Tank in 2013
But Siminoff didn’t land a deal with any of the Sharks he was hoping would invest in his idea
At the time, the duct was called Doorbot; Siminoff had asked the Sharks for a $700,000 investment for a 10% stake in his company, valuing it at $7 million
Additionally, Moreover, He marketed it as a caller ID for your doorbell and said during his pitch the company had done $1 million in with each unit priced at $199 during its first nine months
On the other hand, Several Sharks, however, doubted Siminoff’s duct could do enough or they could offer enough value to his company. “I’m wrestling over where this goes in the market,” Daymond John said (which is quite significant), considering recent developments
Siminoff declined an offer from Kevin O’Leary, a
Wonderful, where he would’ve vided $700,000 with a 10% royalty that dropped down to 7% after he recouped his initial investment, plus 5% of the company’s equity
However, Siminoff left empty-handed that day (fascinating analysis), amid market uncertainty
Nevertheless, Conversely, But just five years after Siminoff’s Shark Tank appearance, he sold his company, which had been renamed Ring in 2014, to Amazon for $1 billion (this bears monitoring)
More than 10 million people now have a Ring doorbell, according to a 2023 stat cited by Politico, amid market uncertainty
O’Leary later admitted in 2018 it was “bably the biggest miss” in the show’s history up until that point, amid market uncertainty. “It just shows you how big the Shark Tank platform is becoming,” O’Leary told CNBC (an important development), in this volatile climate
Additionally, “Every year the deals get bigger and the exits get bigger, in today's market environment
Additionally, ” Mark Cuban maintained his previous position in a 2018 LinkedIn post, where he ed he wouldn’t invest in Ring if he had the chance again (an important development), considering recent developments
Additionally, Conversely, “While Jamie did an amazing job turning [D]oorbot into [R]ing, I have a fundamental aversion to companies that require raising hundreds of millions of dollars to do less in revenues,” Cuban wrote, in light of current trends
How Jamie invented Ring many other major companies such as Amazon and Apple, Ring was a duct of tinkering in Siminoff’s garage
He wanted to invent a doorbell that could connect to a person’s phone and that would be cheap to duce—but it turned out to be much more of an undertaking than he had anticipated (an important development), in light of current trends
Additionally, “It turns out we were way over our skis,” Siminoff told Fortune at its 2019 Brainstorm conference
Siminoff even used his last $20,000 to build an elaborate set to pitch Doorbot (now Ring) on Shark Tank, but that fell short when he didn’t land a deal (noteworthy indeed). “We were at the point where we had sales, we had a good duct, but we had such a complex,” Siminoff told Inc
Additionally, “We couldn’t show how we were going to get to the next step
We were at that awkward adolescent phase. ” Even though he didn’t seal a deal with “the Queen of QVC” Lori Greiner on Shark Tank, Siminoff still got to sell his duct on QVC in 2016
Furthermore, Shark Tank visibility also got Siminoff investors including basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and Virgin Group cofounder Sir Richard Branson. “What excites me Ring is its efficient, convenient apach to crime prevention and monitoring and also its entrepreneurial leadership team,” Branson said in a 2015 statement
Furthermore, Furthermore, “I’m speaking as both an investor and a very happy customer. ” Jamie Siminoff leaves—and returns—to Amazon’s Ring After a decade spent building Ring and five years integrating it into Amazon’s smart- duct line, Siminoff parted ways with the e-commerce giant in May 2023, considering recent developments
At the time, Siminoff said he was leaving to pursue other opportunities since Ring had become more established in Amazon’s portfolio
Liz Hamren became CEO of Ring in Siminoff’s absence
Moreover, “What started as just a quick weekend ject to allow me to see who was at my door while working from my garage has become a household name brand at one of the world’s most innovative companies,” he wrote in a statement at the time, amid market uncertainty
He then went on to become CEO of smart-lock company Latch
Nevertheless, But just two years later, Siminoff has made his return to Amazon as vice president overseeing Ring and several other smart- initiatives, in today's financial world
While Ring had become somewhat of a community forum, Siminoff’s first message to employees and customers was that the company would return to its original mission, in today's market environment
On the other hand, “So excited to be back working on our mission to make neighborhoods safer (something worth watching)
Conversely, ” Siminoff wrote in a companywide obtained by Insider, in today's market environment
Additionally, Sources also told BI he’s focused on faster execution, better efficiency, and using AI more
Moreover, Furthermore, “We're reimagining Ring from the ground up with AI first,” Siminoff wrote in a recent to staff, according to Insider. “It feels the early days again—same energy and the same potential to revolutionize how we do our neighborhood safety. ” Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America, given the current landscape
Explore this year's list, in this volatile climate.
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