SEATTLE — In 2013, inventor Jamie Siminoff brought his idea for a video doorbell to TV's "Shark Tank," hoping to find a backer for his new company. The sharks flatly rejected him.
But the product, Ring, became a huge hit, and Amazon purchased his company in 2018 for over $1 billion.
Now, "Shark Tank" wants him back, this time as a guest sharkbeginning with the season premiere Oct.7 on ABC.
"The Sharks were extremely nice," and didn't apologize for rejecting him, Siminoff says."You can't blame an investor for missing out on something they heard for 30 minutes on a TV show."
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Meanwhile, now that he's part of the Amazon family, Siminoff has two new products coming out this fall, and they work in conjunction with Alexa, Amazon's voice computing platform.
• Ring’s Stick Up Cams are the first indoor / outdoor security cameras from the company. Priced at $179.99, they will be available in December and can connect to either battery or indoor power.
• The new Ring Alarm will connect to locks from Schlage, Yale, Kwiksetand Danalock and be compatible with Alexa Guard. The alarm also interacts with Alexa soyou can arm and disarmthe device with your voice. Monthly service starts at $10.
"Alarms are only good if people use them, so here's a way to make it super easy to put your house in a state that can make it easier to operate,"Siminoff says.
Meanwhile, Siminoff will "always be hustling" as a front man for Ringin TV ads and on the QVC shopping network, where he hawks his product.
"I'm still promoting the mission of reducing crime in neighborhoods," he says.
His e-mail address remainson every box, and "sometimes I will show up and try to solve the problem myself," he adds.
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