PODCAST: How I built this (Jamie Siminoff - Ring)

How I built this from Guy Raz tells the story of entrepreneurs on their story from the beginning to the current moment. Guy Raz is an expert at dissecting the story and helping understand the story. I have learned so many lessons from these stories and I'm hoping you enjoy them. You can listen to it here.

HIBT: Jamie Siminoff (Founder of Ring)

Jamie is the story of someone who always had the hustle. One thing he makes clear is that he wasn't an entrepreneur for business, but rather for an inventor. He started tech companies that filled niches like many in the tech bubble businesses. He built phone service companies and he created a service that transcribed voicemails. With many of these companies, he taught himself how to create code, build networks to get the business up and running.

It's this drive and ambition that we see throughout his life. He ended up realizing that he was driven by inventing and started just inventing in his garage. He had an idea for garden tiles when he realized that he needed a doorbell that he could see on his phone. It was this need to fix a problem that drove him and hearing about how he created this device is amazing. He ends up on shark tank because of a friend and trained and trained because he realized this could be his big break. However, we almost saw him fail when the video wasn't working on some of his devices. They managed to fix it but seeing them the struggle is a refreshing reminder of how fragile a startup can be. There's a moment when he has to mortgage his house and it's the wife who tells him he has to do it. It's that support that allowed him to continue.

Lessons Learned:

1. Entrepreneurship vs. Inventors:

This provided me context between the distinction of people who create companies just for a love of business and those who are driven by inventions. Jamie is not an inventor, not a business person.

2. Culture is crucial to the success

This is a theme in nearly every episode. Culture is key to creating a strong business because it creates guidelines and happy workers. With Ring, one thing Jamie prided himself on is leaving his email on every package which is still the case to this day.

3. Vigilance

The ring was created from an idea that Jamie had because he had a problem. In every business, though there's a moment where you realize just why your product or company is loved and needed. For Jamie, it's when he realized that Rings provided security and protection that people could feel and connect with. It's something that may seem obvious, but when your so focused on production and creation you sometimes forget. When Jamie learned this, he understood what exactly ring would mean for people and knew then better how to market it. It's something that you see when you see on social media videos of dad's talking to a young man taking their daughter out on a date. It's that interaction that epitomizes what makes the Ring so loved and important.