How a $200 Doorbell Became a $4B Company
About This Episode
Jamie Siminoff, the founder of Ring, recounts the tumultuous path to selling his company to Amazon for over $1 billion despite nearly going bankrupt during the final negotiation stages. He discusses his "Snowball Method" for scaling small ideas into global brands, his philosophy on hiring undervalued talent, and how he is currently applying entrepreneurial principles to revitalize a small town in Missouri.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:00Intro
- 2:47Selling Ring for $1.15B
- 6:48Getting sued by ADT
- 17:18Working with Jeff Bezos
- 19:29$400M to $4B
- 24:02Getting the wire
- 26:44Money v freedom
- 28:29Rule 1: Start with the problem
- 30:02Rule 2: Little solution, massive market
- 33:31Idea: Modern bug control ($5-10B idea)
- 40:35Rule 3: The snowball approach
- 43:54Ding Dong and other must reads
- 46:32The Tom Brady philosophy on hiring
- 51:33The too hard pile
- 54:25Stickwithitness
- 56:14Last mile marketing
- 58:08Rebuilding a town
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Key Takeaways
Leverage "pre-awareness" by building on top of established products that consumers already understand—like doorbells or floodlights—which significantly reduces the cost and effort of market education.
Adopt the "Tom Brady" hiring strategy by seeking out undervalued talent with high passion and the minimum required skills, then granting them massive autonomy to prove themselves or fail quickly.
Avoid "technology looking for a problem" by starting with a visceral, everyday annoyance and using first principles to find the simplest solution, rather than chasing complex tech for its own sake.