The Aftermath of a $1B Exit | Jamie Siminoff
My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Jamie Siminoff, inventor of the Ring doorbell, about the aftermath of selling Ring to Amazon for 1.15 billion dollars. Siminoff recounts the awkward courtship with Amazon, doing 480 million dollars of revenue in 2017 while growing triple digits and nearly hitting the wall daily, and the ADT injunction that landed an hour before a term sheet and almost killed the deal. He describes growing Ring to around four billion in revenue at Amazon, stepping down burnt out in 2023, and returning because he missed the mission. His operating style is pure inventor: no staff meetings ever, hiring on the spot when someone clearly sees the problems, and firing within three to six months because every leader wishes they had done it sooner. He also brainstorms his bug-killer idea, attacking mosquito eggs in standing water from first principles. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the exit story and operating lessons; other brainstorm ideas are not covered. These are Siminoff's own recollections and opinions, not independently verified.
Executive Summary (TL;DR)
My First Million episode in which Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk with Jamie Siminoff, inventor of the Ring doorbell, about the aftermath of selling Ring to Amazon for 1.15 billion dollars. Siminoff recounts the awkward courtship with Amazon, doing 480 million dollars of revenue in 2017 while growing triple digits and nearly hitting the wall daily, and the ADT injunction that landed an hour before a term sheet and almost killed the deal. He describes growing Ring to around four billion in revenue at Amazon, stepping down burnt out in 2023, and returning because he missed the mission. His operating style is pure inventor: no staff meetings ever, hiring on the spot when someone clearly sees the problems, and firing within three to six months because every leader wishes they had done it sooner. He also brainstorms his bug-killer idea, attacking mosquito eggs in standing water from first principles. No separate sponsor read appears in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this summary highlights the exit story and operating lessons; other brainstorm ideas are not covered. These are Siminoff's own recollections and opinions, not independently verified.