The creator of the first Wi-Fi video doorbell, Jamie Siminoff, has one of the most inspiring stories from Shark Tank. He failed to get a deal on the show after pitching his startup, Ring (originally called Doorbot). When it was acquired by Amazon, he returned to the ABC reality series as a guest investor. As of 2022, Jamie Siminoff has a net worth of $300 million.
Early Life
On October 18, 1976, Jamie Siminoff was born in Chester, New Jersey. He is a full-blooded American, but he has not revealed much information about his parents and most of his childhood.
Some sources reveal that his father was a businessman and co-founded a pipe manufacturing company. If so, that means being into entrepreneurship runs in his blood.
He attained secondary education at West Morris Mendham, a public comprehensive high school near his hometown. Then, he enrolled in Babson College, graduating with a degree in entrepreneurship in 1999.
Career Beginnings
Siminoff started his first company, Your First International after he graduated from college. However, it became his first major failure. In 2003, he developed PhoneTag, the world’s first technology that transcribes voicemail into text.
Seven years later, he created an online service that helps users unsubscribe from junk emails, Unsubscribe.com. It was funded by DFJ Frontier, Charles River Ventures, and several angel investors.
In 2011, he was inspired to create something to answer the doorbell without being interrupted in his work. He came up with Doorbot, a doorbell with video features connected to its owner’s smartphone.
Road to Prominence
At first, the aspiring entrepreneur created the products in his garage. However, he realized that if he wanted to scale production, he needed massive capital investment. So, he went to Shark Tank in 2013, asking for $700,000 in exchange for 10% of his startup.
Kevin O’Leary made an offer to loan the business money but Jamie didn’t want any debt. Although the Sharks were fascinated by his brilliant idea, Siminoff left the show with no deal. Still, the publicity he got from the show linked him to other big-time investors, including billionaire Richard Branson.
Later on, Doorbot was rebranded to Ring and was bought by Amazon for over $1 billion in 2018. Later that year, he got a call from Shark Tank producers asking him to go back on the show. But this time, he was going to be a guest Shark.
Net Worth and Earnings
When Jamie was still CEO of PhoneTag, it was making $2 million annually. The firm was purchased by YouMail for $17 million in 2009. Unsubscribe.com was also making $25,000 to $100,000 a year before he sold it in 2011.
These companies were fairly successful, but Ring is the biggest contributor to his wealth. The smart home company makes around $415 million every year. Jamie Siminoff’s $1 billion deal with Amazon left him with a $300 million net worth.
Personal Life
Back in 2006, Siminoff walked down the aisle and got married to Erin Lindsey. She works for 20th Century Fox. Jamie and Erin are taking care of their son, Oliver, in their home in Santa Monica, California.
