Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff: The $1BN Amazon Acquisition; How Richard Branson Invested | 20VC #984

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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
1:04 Ring’s Founding Story
2:23 Who is Jamie Siminoff?
5:41 How Richard Branson Became and Investor in Ring
10:36 The Secret to Hiring
13:58 Ring’s Near-Death Experience
20:42 What does it mean to have a great brand?
23:48 What is “ground truth”?
25:19 How to Take Customer Feedback
27:17 Taking on Tony Fadell and Google
30:23 Mission-Driven Investing
34:55 What would you have done differently with Ring?
36:04 The Best CEOs Inject Risk Into the Business
38:01 The $1BN Amazon-Ring Acquisition
53:15 Emotional Leaders
54:57 Jamie is Stepping Down from CEO
57:16 Parenting Tips
1:01:38 Marriage Tips
1:03:15 Tolerance for Mediocrity
1:05:15 Quick-Fire Round

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In Today’s Episode with Jamie Siminoff We Discuss:

1.) From Creating the First Wi-Fi Doorbell to $BN Acquisition:

When was the moment Jamie realized he had to create the world’s first Wi-Fi-enabled doorbell?
How di Richard Branson come to be an investor in Ring? What was the process?
How does Jamie advise other founders when it comes to the question of whether it is valuable having business moguls as investors in their business?

2.) Crucible Moments: From Lawsuits and Near-Death to $22M in Sales in a Day:

When Jamie hears the words “near-death experience” what is the moment in the Ring journey that comes to mind?
How did Jamie get through a crippling lawsuit and come out selling $22M in 24 hours on QVC?
How did Jamie feel when he placed a $500M order with manufacturers when he only had $100M?
What does Jamie believe was the hardest phase of the business?

3.) Jamie Siminoff: The Leader:

Why does Jamie want to hire marathon runners? Why does the analogy make for good hires?
Does Jamie start from a position of trust with new hires and it is there to be built or start with no trust and it is there to be gained?
Does Jamie believe he is a tolerant leader? What does he mean when he says, “I want to see the dirt under your fingernails”?
Why does Jamie believe that building a brand is like making great wine?
Why does Jamie really hate customer surveys? What should be done instead?

4.) Selling for $1BN to Amazon:

How did the Amazon acquisition come to be? How did the discussion go?
Why did Jamie decide then was the right time?
When you sell for a $1BN, does the cash hit your account soon? When did Jamie actually receive the money? How did he feel when he saw it is in his account?
What does Jamie believe Ring did so well to make the acquisition a success?
What did Amazon do well to ensure Ring was integrated most effectively?
What are 1-2 of the biggest lessons Jamie has learned from being within Amazon?

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#JamieSiminoff #RingDoorbell #HarryStebbings #20vc #amazon #businessadvice #startups #richardbranson

[osvaldo]

Cant believe this only has 1k views, great interview 👍🏼

[michaelmichael]

I dont know, maybe it's just this guys interviewing style, but I got a sense of mockery from him, while Jamie remained humble and enthusiastic as day one.

[Maylinxhin]

Did he pay someone to build the technology or did he do it himself?