Jamie Siminoff is well-known for his guest appearance on the popular series Shark Tank. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because viewers of Shark Tank saw this guest judge more than once on the show. Who is Jamie Siminoff?
Jamie Siminoff Early Life
Jamie Siminoff, born James Siminoff, was born on October 18, 1976, in Chester, New Jersey. From an early age, Jamie recalls tinkering with things around the house. He used to pull them apart and figure out how they worked. Eventually, this led to tinkering with things in his garage.
His teachers at West Morris Mendham High School recall him being curious and having an active imagination.
Education
After high school, Jamie knew that he was destined to be an inventor. He had an entrepreneurial spirit that would see him through to success.
He attended college at Babson College in Wellesley, a school that was well-known for being one of the best private schools in the world. It was also considered one of the best colleges for entrepreneurs.
After school, he headed for sunny Southern California.
The Founder Of Ring Doorbell
Jamie Siminoff is a lifelong entrepreneur who is consistently inventing something new. He made the first ever video Wi-Fi doorbell in his garage in 2011. He named it DoorBot.
Jamie Credits Ring Success To His Wife, Erin
Jamie’s wife, Erin, was the one that planted the seed for the future invention. She consistently complained that he never heard or answered the doorbell. He spent most of his time in the garage, so it only made sense to create a way for him to hear the doorbell.
Then, after the invention of DoorBot, Erin continued to provide support. She told him it was like “caller ID for the door” and consistently shared social media posts to show her support for her husband and the product.
First Appearance On Shark Tank
Shark Tank first saw Jamie Siminoff walk onto the stage as an inventor looking for an investor. His pitch was $700,000 in exchange for 10% of the company.
He pitched the idea of DoorBot to the sharks, but the only one that bit was Kevin O’Leary. The offer from Kevin O’Leary contained a loan and royalty deals. However, Siminoff turned down the deal offered and went home with nothing.
DoorBot Continued To Grow
Instead of being discouraged, Siminoff continued to work on his invention. It transitioned to Ring, the security powerhouse that most people know of today. With Jamie Siminoff directing the growth of the company, Ring grew to a massive size.
It eventually went on to sell over $5 million in products, attracting the attention of multiple investors that wanted to get in on the success. Richard Branson and Goldman Sachs were just a couple of the investors that helped the company grow with over $200 million in investments.
Ring was built on people using the doorbell for security purposes, and went on to produce various other security products, including:
- Indoor security cameras
- Outdoor security cameras, both with and without lights
- A floodlight
- Mailbox sensor
- Alarm systems
In 2018, Amazon purchased Ring. However, Jamie Siminoff continues to work with the company to help it maintain its position as the cutting-edge leader in home security.
Other Inventions
Jamie Siminoff is known for several things, aside from his appearance on Shark Tank and creating the doorbell that can help solve crimes. Even if you haven’t heard of Jamie Siminoff, you’ve likely heard of at least one other invention.
PhoneTag
PhoneTag was the world’s first voice-to-text service, which was founded in 2003. It seamlessly converts voicemails into text messages so that users can read what the voicemail says. The company was sold to SimulScribe for an astounding $17 million in 2009.
UnSubscribe
This email service was designed to help users unsubscribe from emails that they don’t open. Simply install the plug-in, and unsubscribe alerts you to subscription emails that you haven’t opened recently. Then, you can easily unsubscribe to emails to make sure that your inbox isn’t full of spam.
It was founded by co-founders Joshua Roth, James Siminoff, and Will Schroter in 2010. TrustedID acquired Unsubscribe.com in 2011, but they did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction when disclosing the acquisition.
Edison Jr.
Edison Jr. sounds like another cool invention that Siminoff is working on, but it’s not. After graduating from college in 1999, Siminoff turned his garage into Edison Jr. It’s the place where he worked on his inventions.
Jamie Siminoff Net Worth
Jamie Siminoff has an astounding net worth of $350 million. This comes from various business endeavors and income streams. Things that have contributed to his massive net worth include:
- Selling Ring Doorbell to Amazon
- The sales of PhoneTag and Unsubscribe.com
- Still being part owner of Ring
- Speaking engagements
Perseverance Was His Secret To Success
The story of Jamie Siminoff sounds nice. He achieved millionaire status by the time he hit the age of 40. However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Siminoff.
According to Jamie, he was broke by the time he went on Shark Tank with a plea for investors. He woke up crying, knowing that he had a wife and his son Oliver and that he didn’t know how he was going to provide for them.
He once said that was what kept him going on those tough days. He knew that if he quit, he would lose his house too.
After building successful companies in the past, Siminoff knew that if he kept at it he was bound to succeed. That is exactly what he did.
Shark Tank Guest Appearance
After being rejected by Shark Tank, Siminoff returned as a guest judge for Shark Tank Season 10. Some notable moments of his appearances on Shark Tank include:
- Invested $400,000 in Moink Box for 20% stake in the company.
- Was out on BoxLock, a company that designed locks for postal services to secure packages
- Invested $100,000 for 25% stake in Bear Bowl
In Conclusion
Jamie Siminoff was born with the mind of an inventor. He was a curious child and often knew that he was going to go on to be an entrepreneur. The Ring inventor is best known for his amazing success with Ring, his inspirational story of success, and for purchasing an $8000 mountain bike after selling Ring to Amazon.
Now that you know the answer to who is Jamie Siminoff, check out the rest of our articles to learn more about the sharks at Shark Tank.
