"Kind of funny" - Doorbot founder Jamie Siminoff jokes about proving Shark Tank's Lori Greiner wrong

Shark Tank has always been more than just a pitch show – it's a battlefield where entrepreneurs fight for their dreams, often with nothing more than an idea and unbridled determination. Jamie Siminoff walked into that arena in 2013 with Doorbot, a WiFi-enabled doorbell that would later revolutionize home security. He would later joke about the experience.

"Now it is kind of all funny."

At the time, though, it was anything but amusing. Siminoff was broke, desperate, and facing rejection from every direction. His eight-person team had poured everything into this moment – $10,000 in props, a month of preparation, and years of entrepreneurial spirit. Little did the sharks know they were looking at a future tech unicorn.

Siminoff's journey from garage inventor to billionaire wouldn't just be a success story – it would become a testament to the power of persistence, innovation, and the ability to turn a simple problem into a global solution.

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What happened during Jamie Siminoff’s Shark Tank pitch?

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Before Ring, Jamie Siminoff was a serial inventor. Since age 7, he'd been tinkering with wild ideas – like a blanket cooled by aquarium water. He'd already built and sold companies, including one for $17 million, but something was missing.

The spark for Doorbot came from a simple frustration: he couldn't hear his doorbell from his garage workspace. He recalled, not seeing it as a business initially, but as a personal solution:

"I literally built myself a WiFi doorbell,"

When Siminoff appeared on Shark Tank in 2013, Doorbot was struggling.

"I remember after that 'Shark Tank' episode literally being in tears," he admitted.

The investors weren't impressed. Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner expressed doubts about the product's marketability.

"I can't count the number of people who didn't invest in this, who said 'no,'" Siminoff remembered.

Adding:

"I don't think Excel could hold the number of records for it."

Rejection didn't stop Siminoff. The Shark Tank episode actually provided unexpected publicity.

"After 'Shark Tank,' we started selling Doorbots like crazy and that drove sales to $3 million within the year," he explained.

The company rebranded as Ring and expanded beyond a single product. By 2017, Ring was valued at $1 billion, with 1,300 employees and 10 core products sold in 16,000 stores.

Siminoff found particular satisfaction in proving the doubters wrong.

"Lori said, 'You'll never be able to sell this on QVC,'" he recalled with a laugh.

In response, he appeared on QVC and sold 140,000 units worth $22.5 million in just 24 hours.

The bigger picture for Ring

Despite the success, Siminoff remains humble about challenges. "I hear 'no', it hits me. It hits me square in the chest," he admitted. But he's not one to give up easily.

"I think the only way to fail is to stop, and so because of that I'm just not willing to stop," he explained.

Ring's success attracted high-profile investors, including Richard Branson. The company expanded from a simple doorbell to a comprehensive home security ecosystem.

Even legal challenges, like a dispute with ADT that temporarily halted sales of a product, couldn't dampen Siminoff's spirit.

"I will stand up and be better and bigger, and fight harder," he declared.

Jamie Siminoff's story is more than a Shark Tank success narrative. It's a blueprint for entrepreneurial resilience. From a garage invention to a billion-dollar company, his journey proves that sometimes, the most revolutionary ideas start with solving a simple, personal problem.

The sharks might not have believed in Doorbot in 2013, but Siminoff believed in himself. And in the world of innovation, that's often the only investment that truly matters.

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Shark Tank airs on Fridays at 8 PM ET on ABC.