June 22, 2021 • 42 mins
On innovation and taking a chance on yourself.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
I want to talk about something controversial that's been coming
up more and more, which is photoshop filtering what we
called in my day air brushing. I don't know if
magazines these days photoshop or face tune or what the
terminology is now, but basically, back when I was younger,
(00:34):
it was magazines like Cosmo and Mademoiselle and Glamour, and
it would be controversial and a conversation that people would
look at ads and they would say, well, I mean
she doesn't eat. Of course they show these pictures these
girls don't eat. Plus they're air brushed, you know, but
it was really not We didn't really understand how that
could possibly work because we didn't understand how the sausage
(00:56):
got made. That was such a foreign concept. And years ago,
I remember, um I was in a PA ad that
said I'd rather go naked than where fur, and people
were saying that it was totally airbrushed or photoshopped or
whatever terminology we used ten plus years ago, and I
posted the real picture of my butt that day before
what they posted, which really was not that much different.
(01:18):
I mean, it probably was just smooth it out a little.
It wasn't like it reduced it or padded it or anything.
It was a very similar picture, and I felt the
need to do that because I can understand how people
are frustrated. They're living their lives, normal people that are attractive,
that take care of themselves, that work out, that take
a picture and think that they can just post it normally,
(01:41):
just take a picture and post it, which is what
I often do, and I very often post myself in
stories just the way that I look. And then people
will say, we've had tons of plastic surgery. I've had
a breast lift, and I get the occasional, not as
often as I probably should botox, but um, years ago
I tried filler. Um, I don't do filler because um
(02:04):
it like bruises you and leaves spots in other places.
So you can see if you look on my story,
I'm sure when this airs, i'll show you at my
sharp pay forehead. But I have not had plastic surgery.
I have not had a nose job. You can look
at my pictures from when I was young in high
school and this is my nose, and people it makes
people feel better to say, oh, well, you've had so
much plastic surgery. And I get that, but I haven't.
(02:24):
And when I take pictures of myself and post them
on a beach, it's really my body in the bathing suit,
and I can have a flat bud and you know,
my boobs which did have a lift probably ten twelve
years ago, to sag a little bit. I like that
because it means that they're more real and authentic. I
don't really care what I look like if I'm going
to be in a magazine or if I'm paying to
have hair and makeup, and things are sort of quote
(02:46):
unquote supposed to look good, and then I don't look good.
I get frustrated. But but believe me, even having hair
and makeup on, I don't like the way that I
look often because it becomes too sort of black Mscara
And yesterday I had to makeup on and then I
ended up in the corner of my eyes and I
feel sloppy and I just feel gross. I hate the
feeling of hair makeup. I really don't like it. It
is what I consider to be a necessary evil when
(03:08):
I am working and when I'm getting paid. But also
because you're now competing with so many people that are
really taking this to the next level with the filters,
and the contouring and the air brushing and all this stuff.
So we're already competing with people who have ad nauseum
plastic surgery, who can afford to have hair extensions, waste censures,
(03:32):
plastic surgery, Tommy tucks, breast lifts, uh, lash extensions, you
name it. People can buy it. So then in addition
to that, which is totally inaccessible to the majority of
the population, in addition to that, now you have these filters.
So now people are taking a picture of themselves. They
can't afford plastic surgery, and no cream in a jar
(03:54):
is going to give you the same effect this plastic surgery.
No matter how much people want to lie to you.
Skincare is about consistency and health in your gin and
not breaking out. But no one's gonna make you look
like you had a facelift with a cream, So don't
ever believe that it's bullshit. In addition, you now look
at people's pictures and they don't look like them, and
you know it, but you love the picture, so you
like it and you envy it and you aspire to
(04:15):
it the way that you would diamonds or jewelry or
something that really rich people have so maybe it's not
that different, but it's making people feel bad about themselves,
and it's making younger women feel inferior and that they
have to keep up. So as a mother of a tween,
I don't want my daughter to feel that she has
(04:37):
to keep up. I don't like the idea of her
feeling bad about herself because she doesn't look like the
pictures that she sees. And while much of this sexuality
has been great in sexuality selling in you know, curve
your bodies being more in and people embracing their curves
and having a bigger booty, etcetera, it's led to a
lot of butt implants and fake hair and fake everything,
(05:00):
and then people air brushing or filtering or face tuning
or whatever you call it and getting caught. So then
they get caught and it's like, so what are we
presenting If you're selling products that are about beauty and
living your best life and looking better and you're showing
yourself on a computer generated image, should there be a
(05:21):
disclaimer that says this was retouched so at least people
will feel better about themselves. I want to know what
you actually think about this, because I was I'm doing
the Kelly Clarkson show, and on the pre interview, the
producer said, you show yourself like Kelly just in no
hair and makeup, and you know, with no filters or
air brushes or whatever you call it, and you know,
(05:44):
we appreciate that, and and and what what do you
feel about that topic? So it is a topic. So
if I see everybody else with no black circles and
everybody looking perfect, and everyone's butt perky and high and
no wrinkles whatsoever and all of that, I'm going to
feel bad about myself. And I'm not even vain. So
what it going to do to people that are vain?
And what's it going to do to young girls who
are insecure about their bodies, battling with uh not getting
(06:06):
eating disorders, having body dysmorphia, going through the change hormonal
change parts of our bodies growing and changing, and feeling
awkward about that. I just I think there's a responsibility
that people, especially who are in the public eye, have
to accurate body image portrayal. That's how I feel about that,
all right, So I do want to hear about what
(06:27):
you think. Please message me, please post on my Instagram.
I'd just like to hear what you think about everything.
Thank you. My guest today is Jamie simonof the founder
and chief inventor of Ring. He created the world's first
WiFi video doorbell while working in his garage in two
(06:48):
thousand eleven. His company was acquired by Amazon in two
thousand eighteen, but he continues to innovate and remain at
the cutting edge of home security. Today we talk about
the importance of taking a chance sign yourself, how million
dollar ideas come from passion, and how hard work tilts
winning in your favor. Jamie's story is incredibly inspiring and
(07:09):
I think you're really going to love this episode. Hello
where are you? I mean Los Angeles? So did you
um move there? Where? Did I see you in Nantucket
on the street? And you had moved there? But wasn't
it temporaries? It now like full time or something was changing.
(07:31):
So Los Angeles is where I live. And then we
spent a ton of time in Nantucket this summer because
obviously like there was nothing else to do. So and
so your business has always been based in l A. Yeah, ye,
Santa Monica. So I met your wife and I met
your son. Does your is your wife a business person?
She's she makes movies. Oh really, that's the she did
the that's my movie posters. Bed. I'm in like the
(07:53):
Poolhouse where like all the movies posters are. Did you
have the fault in Our Stars? That was like her
big movie? Wow? Um yeah, she's all the altbit in
the Chipmunks movies, which is like made money. But that's
like lesson, you know, like less exciting to talk about.
That's pretty exciting in my house. I've seen them all
many times, many times. Yeah, exactly, So I'm sorry. Through
(08:13):
the show, which is about really success stories and mavericks,
people who've sort of done their own way, nontraditional path
to business people that it's been like sort of a
circuitous root, and other people who may not be so
traditional or could be corporate, find sort of their own
toolbox to business through the similarities the commonalities through you
(08:35):
and other people who have undeniably achieved success. But one
of the things that we have that's sort of been
uncovered here is relationship success. So you how long have
you been married? That don't put me on the spot
on that one. I think it's in two thousands six
so that years okay, So a minute, okay, So you
(08:56):
and I didn't. I didn't remember that your wife was
also like undeniably successful. So how do you balance whose
turn it is, who's where the fish are. Let's say
that your wife had to move somewhere for her business,
which you're in l A. So that wouldn't really necessarily happen,
but let's say she did, or you would have to
move to Silicon Valley for some reason. How do you
(09:17):
balance what's more important? There's never the time that everybody's
lined up, So how do you work that whole program
of having and also just having time and not being
sucked in? Because when two people are business people, all
you do is talk about it and it gets annoying.
So luckily, like I mean, luckily, the stuff she does
is different enough from what I do that it doesn't
like we don't have that we're not in the same
(09:39):
sort of thing, which I think is actually like for me,
is healthy because it's we're different enough that we can
talk about what we're doing, but it's not like we
know each other's like other people in the business or
something with it. She's been, I mean, it's incredibly supportive
of me and like what I've been able to do,
and I don't think you can do it like I don't.
It takes a village, like it takes the people around you,
I think to be successful, and so like that support
(10:02):
is huge. And then do you know, I like my
son is the most important thing, and so to me,
it like kind of works backwards from there and what
about like connectivity. Grant Cardone said something interesting to me.
He said, I have to work on me. I can't
work on you, meaning his wife, like he works on himself,
he's not gonna work on her. Which we often when
we're not feeling great or edgy, we might say to
(10:22):
the person with us, we could we could be critical,
or you're doing that. You you you, And I thought
that was interesting that he said that. I don't know,
like we don't. I don't think we've ever like thought
about how we do this. Wow, that's good. Which is
just kind of funny. As you say, is I'm like, well,
like maybe I should like put more, but we just
kind of I guess we made it work. I mean
it's like we're I think it's good, um, but but
(10:43):
it's funny. I just yeah, I think we just kind
of like, I mean, we talked like all day and
you know, like stuff and just kinda um, I've also
always traveled from when I've met Like when I met her,
I had a little business and was doing stuff. So
I think we've always been in this sort of like
we've kind of lived separate lives together where like we've
never been like it wasn't like we were like this
wrecking crew little couple like young and then like all
(11:05):
of a sudden like started doing stuff like got it.
So maybe that's what it's like, we just have always been. Yeah,
that's a commonality. That's exactly what Jesse's Okay, So that's
that's why I was digging for that because I'm finding
that I may I made you another show about that
successful you know, the double entanga to successful relationship, successful
people having successful relationships. So yes, just so you know,
(11:26):
that's what I found, Like people who really let you
be you and some of my best girlfriends because travel
makes them more connected and travel makes it not insufferable,
and people being honest about so anyway that that I
just wanted to see. I think it's also like it's
like not worrying about the optics of what people think
you should be doing in your relationship is super important
because like I remember people being like you guys, like
(11:47):
you've been away for all this time, like how are you? Like,
how is it working? And it's like I don't And
then I'd be like, well, I don't know, like it
it seems to be though, like it seems actually great.
That's a great point because I'm long distance from Paul,
but it works. But funny because were talking about Nantuckett
and I'm in the Hamptons a lot, and you also
have the factor and your kids. We have two. We
have different kids, so my daughter has needs and traveling
back and forth isn't always working for her. And we
(12:09):
were talking about that this morning. He's like, I have
to work, you know, I have to work on not
feeling bad if I'm somewhere and you're not there, what
would what would look like? It was so funny. We
just had this conversation, um which fly like I do, Like,
I mean, Paul good friend, but you know when went
to college together for a little bit. But but you know,
very upset that he did not ask his ring friend
(12:29):
for advice before getting a ring. I mean, like I
gotta I mean, I have to say, like I'm a
little little hurt on that, so like I'm coming in,
you know, a little hot to this thing. It's so
funny because he did bring that up when I said
I was interviewing. He said, all right, we'll have to
ask him the expert on the ring, what he thinks
about the ring. That's really funny. So yes, you came
up in this conversation. So for everybody listening, Paul, my fiance,
(12:50):
and uh Jamie are friends. And Jamie was also a
shark on Shark Tank as was I. So we have,
you know, similarities in our path and being entrepreneurial, and
we sat together at a wedding and you're very funny.
So I'm assuming you're the peacock and your household um
as I am, so all right, so let's get into
what we really want to talk about, which is that
was really what I do want to talk about. But
(13:10):
let's talk about this too, okay. So where did you
grow up and have you always sort of felt like
you were an entrepreneur even though I didn't even know
what an entrepreneur was until I was thirty seven years old.
So were you hustling as a kid? Would you selling things?
Were you doing bake sales and lemonade stands or things
like that. I was doing everything as a kid you
could do to make money. And it's funny that looking back,
(13:33):
it's amazing how clear things are when you look back,
but how cloudy they are when you're in them. And so,
like everyone like I was like hustling. I would do
like I would literally like I would grew up in
like kind of horse country in New Jersey. I would
shovel the stalls out from people's horse barns on the
way to school, I mean, any cooking crook. I did
everything I could do to like make money, and and
(13:53):
so I thought I was an entrepreneur. And so I
then went to Babson, which is a great entrepreneurial school,
and they like I learned lots about being an entrepreneur.
And I got out and I started like businesses, and
but looking back, I was not an entrepreneur. I was
an inventor. Like what I was really doing was I
was in the basement of the time that I had
free time. I was in the basement in this one
little room that had all my tools and all my
(14:15):
RC cars and all this stuff, and I was just
build I was building stuff, Like it's what it's and
to this day is what I love doing, Like I
love tinkering like that is like my my favorite place
to be is just It's why I like having like
a boat, because boats break all the time, Like I
like everyone complains about that, Like that's what I like
about the boat, Like I know it's gonna break and
(14:35):
I'll be able to fix it. That's amazing. I like
houses for that. I don't want I never want to
really buy a house that doesn't have things wrong with it.
It gets me aggravated and it becomes too much of
a time stock project. But I'm sort of addicted to
it because I just love to fiddle. I call it fiddling.
So Paul will say when we go to the Hampton sometimes,
like I'll say to him, like to want credit, Like
I really haven't fiddled that much today, Like I just
(14:56):
need to be always organizing something, fixing something, repairs something.
Not the same way as you. I'm not an inventor.
I am an inventor of ideas, but now in that
same way. But I relate to that sort of fixation
that you have with that, Um, well it was your
did your parents have money today and still work hard
in you or you were not giving you any money
or is it just is it just innate? We were
like middle class, mean we were like I like we
(15:18):
were middle class, but we weren't like certainly not rich.
And my parents are pretty not like tight with money,
but like tight with like giving me money for things
I wanted and so like I wanted to get a
four wheeler and They're like, you're not getting a four
wheeler and I'm like, I really want one another and
then not getting one. So then I like worked and
I bought a four wheeler. Um, like I wanted a car.
I was so like I was very independent, so like
(15:40):
I had a I had a bike, and I would
bike everywhere, you know, before I had a license. And
in New Jersey, like people lived ten fifteen miles away
and I lit a bike over to like a friend's house,
and the parents would be like, there's no way you
biked here from where you live, and I'm like, yeah, yeah,
I spent like the last two hours, you know, like
I biked here. You like getting immersed in something. It
sounds like you like to do so think all the
(16:00):
way and execute, Yeah I do execute. That is like
I think one of the lucky side effects in my
brain or whatever is that. Inventors a lot of times
don't execute um Like there's great I people email me
all the time. I have this great invention, this great
idea and a lot of them, but they are great
ideas and they hate my response, which is like they
(16:22):
want like how do I get this out? What do
I do? And I'm like, just go do it freaking
execute like like you can do it, like like you
the power is in you, and they hate that. They
want the like Jamie simonov is gonna come in and
just like you know, like like kind of the shark
tank thing, like like just I'm just gonna like give
them everything. And yeah, no, I know, but it's very
(16:43):
difficult for many people. People have to really dig deep
and go with their gut and find their gut and
find their passion. But not everyone knows that, and that's
very challenging. You knew you liked tinkering, So take me
through this process. You probably had many jobs and then
(17:06):
you you hit the jackpot or you created joan jackpot.
I don't know how much of that was luck and
how much of that was hard work. So I actually, like,
I mean, so I did like a bunch of little
businesses and people are like, oh, you're a serial entrepreneur.
That's like so cute. I like pat me on the
head and I'd be like, I'm not a serious. I'm
a really frustrated person. Like I'm a frustrated human being,
Like I don't want to be doing a thousand businesses,
like that's not fulfilling. I just can't figure out. Like
(17:28):
and I finally had like a midlife entrepreneurial crisis, and
I said, I said to my wife, I said, I'm
going in the garage. I have a hundred, you know,
hundreds of ideas written down on my phone in the
notes thing, and I'm just gonna start building them. Like
I hate I keep getting into these businesses, but I
want to just like tinker and I'm an inventor. And
I'm like I'm done. I'm like, I'm so. I literally
(17:50):
went in the garage. People thought I lost my mind.
Were you financially secure or were you having noise and
money money noise? No? I mean we my wife was
you know, Aaron was making decent money, but like not
enough for us to do that forever. Like certainly, like
I had to, you know, kick it up. A notch.
Did you feel did you feel a certain way gender
wise with your wife making more money than you did
(18:10):
at that time? I never have had that, like you know,
that's that's good. And I think like true entrepreneurs don't
think of like they're the most diverse, the most like
because I think you like you don't have these like
social structures of things that you think about because like
you care about like getting an invention out doing like
you don't like like those other things sort of I
(18:30):
think like I don't. I don't know, I don't see
them as much, like, yeah, you don't have time for that.
You're just like in the zone. Yeah, like I want
to go in vent Like great, my wife works, Like
that's awesome, Like good for us. You know, it's like
that's evolved. You're the simplicity and it is very evolved.
That's interesting. So all right, so you're in the garage
for two years and then and we're doing like I
mean I literally had like I did. I was trying
to do these things called snap garden, which was like
(18:51):
these growing tiles that would go on your patio. So
I had all these tables out in our We had
this tiny little backyard and not all these tables that
we're doing, all these growing things. I mean it looked
like a pot farm. Um it wasn't like it should
have been a more profitable but it wasn't. And um,
so we had all this. I mean, I mean like
literally people come over and they'd be like this, like
your husband has lost like you're going to work. This
(19:12):
is like he's building gardening tables in your backyard, Like
this is a disaster, like Christopher Lloyd and Black Back
to the Future. I mean hopefully yeah, like a little
better looking, but hopefully. Um. And and so I couldn't
hear the doorbell and I'm in like my little garage
and I couldn't can't hear the doorbell, like and I like,
(19:33):
I just got an iPhone and I went online and
I looked for a WiFi doorbell because I just had
to exist. Like that's actually an interesting inventor thing is
It's not a lot of people think they've always invented
something and it actually exists. I always think it exists
and then I'm shocked that it doesn't. Like it's it's
like almost the opposite same. I do the same exact thing.
I know exactly what we're talking about the obvious things.
(19:55):
I mean, the locality Margarita is the most obvious thing
you've heard in your life. And I couldn't believe that
no one had ever done before. Yeah, And so like
the WiFi doorbell, I went to buy one, Like I'm like,
there must be a hundred zero no one like like
just didn't exist. And I'm like, so I'm like screwing.
So I go in there. What do I do? Like
I'm a tinker, Like I take a camera and the thing,
and I put this thing together and I throw it
(20:15):
on the front door so that I couldn't hear the doorbell.
Like it goes to my phone, and I shared the
thing with with my with Aaron, and instead of her like,
I mean this was horrible looking on the front door,
I mean like you know, like the front doors, like
the entrance to the home and like this little home
and the you know, it's our little like starter home
and like and instead of her kicking the thing off
the side of the door, she's like, this makes me
(20:36):
feel safer. This is your best best thing you've ever
come up with, which is almost like insulting to me
because it wasn't an invention. It was like I was
just solving my problem for being in the garage, right right,
I know what you're saying, Like it was just solving
a problem while you worked on the other inventions. Yeah,
like I had real inventions. I was working on I
got some other Okay, that's amazing. So when how many
(20:56):
years ago was that? Two eleven? Okay, so what happens next?
So I still know it's it's not an AHA moment um.
I end up kind of like playing when it playing
with other stuff. I finally get to this point where
we like kickstarters going, and so we tried to launch
our own kickstarter thing. We put it on the that
that and then people started to like, you know, they
(21:18):
started pre buying it. And it was when I heard
so this this like I mean like a couple of
the stick out. But there was this one woman in
like Stockton, California, which is like kind of north and
like the kind of suburbs like in the middle of California,
and she emailed me and said, like I bought this thing.
It's so genius because my neighbor's house got broken into
and we're you know, I'm always away at the market
(21:38):
or whatever, and like now if someone came and they
rang the doorbell, I could act like I'm home and
and like that would stop that. And I was like,
and so I had thought it could do that, and
my wife's saying it made me think you could do it.
My worry was that no one would realize it could
do that, and the cost of marketing that would be
too high. And when I saw that people actually like
naturally saw the benefit. That was so like that email
(22:01):
to me, like I still remember, like we're like sitting
in the garages and being like this could be something
like like people are seeing the value of it. Okay,
I got it. And for people who don't know explain
what the function is, I'm sure it's evolved now because
because of Paul, because of you. I have one on
my back door, but I literally do not own a computer.
I don't own an iPad. I don't know how to
(22:22):
download anything. I am literally I may as well have
a Beta Max, So don't get upset with me. I
have zero music on my phone. I am just on
my own weird like nerd. That's the opposite of you,
just in other like old school ways. So anyway, I
don't know exactly how to use it in what it
exactly does? I know that Paul put it in there,
somebody put it, and I've seen it because I see
the logo and it's very attractive. I don't understand exactly.
(22:44):
So tell for the dumb dumbs like me, and we
may have a lot of dumb dumbs like me, exactly
what it was and what it is and what it
does and what happened. So the first ring was it
basically allowed you to deliver presence to your front door.
So when someone would come motion detection or they pressed
the doorbell button, you get an alert and you could
see and talk to who is at your front door.
(23:07):
And so that was really the like and and that
was in in the home security. The interesting thing was
that everyone else that was building devices for home security
was building the opposite, which is someone breaks your door
open and it tells you, you know, like an alarm like.
So everything was sort of the to, like the after,
not the before, and so we sort of this idea
(23:27):
of presence of being able to sort of interact with
who's around your home was kind of like and and
that was like when my wife said, this makes me
feel safer, like that what the invention was the mission
which became to make neighborhood safer. Like that was that's
really like it's not the doorbell or the physical product,
it's like the mission of doing that created a whole
(23:48):
line of products then that that do that. I get
it the concept. Now, So are you would you say
that this is democratizing what security systems were? That's what
You're the one who's pretty much democratized secure home security systems.
I mean certainly we I mean just the numbers show it,
like we we have more security systems. I think that.
I mean, like you know, we're over ten million households now. Um, so,
(24:11):
I mean like it's it's it's it's definitely done that
and it's brought down the price points to sub hundred
dollars to have you know, what I would consider like
good security things for your home that you couldn't access before.
I mean cameras. I mean ten years ago, there weren't
camera systems were very expensive, and so we took like
what was like on a high end home that maybe
was you know, literally twenty dollars, and now you're you know,
(24:33):
you can get the same exact thing for you know,
sub five hundred. It's amazing. How so, so you did
not have a partner, this is your own thing. I didn't. Yeah,
I was the sole founder. So you were the sole founders.
So you start selling these I guess online. You did
get money from Kickstarter, Like, what's that process to get
you to being purchased? And how do you make the decision?
I've been in the situation, not for what I believe
(24:55):
like the numbers that you were talking about, but how
do you make that decision to um, let go and
realize that you're not going to take it the whole
way and you're gonna get swallowed in legal bills or
whatever the hell that I was thinking, Because you have
to at some point let go, and you know, you
want the street cred and the presence of the deal
to propel you. So how does that whole process work? So,
I mean, you know, we we started Kickstarter, get some
(25:17):
money going, thought it was enough to get it actually going.
It wasn't. I ended up like going deep in the
hole with the thing. Um, you know, it was a
pretty bad. Like so, and in Shark Tank, I get
lucky to sort of somehouse sort of all of a sudden,
I'm like on Shark Tank and I, you know, figure
we're gonna get money there as a regular person. That's
so funny that I was on the Apprentice as a
(25:38):
regular contestant and then later you know, now I have
my own show. That's kind of you know, picking a
person to work for me. And that you were on
Shark Tank as a picture and then you became a shark.
So that's very fascinating interesting. Okay, so yeah, you were
on I forgot you were on Shark Tank pitching this
idea and like I was legitimately out of Moneyne did money.
(26:01):
Mark Cuban I was certain was going to invest and
was out in like within five seconds of me being
out there, like after my pitch, like he was like
this is great. Why he said he couldn't see it
being big. I had the same experience. So that's really
good for people to hear too, that you will here
know so much. You have to just dig down deep
and know if you have a good idea, you're right.
Who would think you did not think of a billion
(26:22):
dollar day? You would never even dream that big. I mean,
it's so funny because Jesse Hitzler says, you know what,
I think you want to have a billion dollar Ida
and think about the end zone. I was like you,
I just wanted it to be successful, make some money
on it. But I think when you look at like
the best businesses that have occurred over the last twenty
thirty years, they've come like Uber. You know, like Garrett
Camp starts Uber. He starts it because he can't get
(26:43):
cars in San Francisco and he's like a single guy's
going out, like he can't get like a car, and
it's always like he's a kind of a geek, and
so he, like you know, creates this little app and
does the thing for himself. And people thought it was
tiny because like how many people need to get black
cars on an app? Like what like the total black
car business is only x, the total taxi business only one,
and so you know, but then and so Uber, you know,
(27:05):
became a thing. So I think it is. But it's
like you have to have a passion for it. It
sounds like you are, and it sounds like you're one
of the few people that I've had here that I
could probably say the percentage of you being lucky is
a lot smaller than you being smart. And I'm counting
passion and drive and all that in it would you agree?
So I I do look at luck as a like
the lottery, and every hour of work you put in
(27:26):
you get another ticket and you're never guaranteed to win.
But if you put like more and more hours in,
you're gonna get more lottery tickets and at some point,
like you are tilting the like in your favor the
chance of winning. But I think that, I mean, there's
so many things that almost went wrong. I mean right
when we were selling to Amazon, like right before that,
we almost tank the business, um like literally like I
(27:47):
mean like like the difference was like sixty days of
how do I have to sell my house and what
what can I get to like signing a term sheet
with Amazon to sell it for over a billion dollars.
I get it. I get what you're saying because people
during the pandemic, if they could just find a way
to survive, they will This could be a gold rush
and they will thrive. But there's a day could make
(28:08):
the difference. A week in a business right now can
make a difference between failure and utter success. Like it's
literally black and white. Yeah, you could literally open everything
could be open next week, like and it's like you
just made it another week and so but that's to me,
that's luck. I mean it's not you can't fault someone
like if we had gone under, like it is what
it is, but you know then you just keep working
harder and harder. And what I did is like I
(28:28):
went on QBC and I saw I was like, literally,
I mean to like almost, I mean, you're you do
the same thing. Like I don't think people realize how
hard it is to do that, like that live TV.
Selling is like it's like it's like donating blood. It
is so hard. It's crazy, you're selling your set. You
I'll say it to myself. It's been four I could
be in like California right now in an airplane. I've
(28:50):
been talking for hours in a row. Yeah, it's crazy.
I know, like it's but like I I went on
like when the things are, they're worse, and I'm like,
we need to sell. Like I'm on there and I
am just like drinking. I'm drinking red Bull and T
like T for my throat, red Bull for like the thing,
and I'm like, I mean, it's it's just I know,
it's crazy. Well you have that you got and people
(29:12):
have to know whether you're a corporate person or whether
you're a maverick. Neither is wrong. You could be successful
in both. But some people don't have that thing where
they just are hungry in that way. You're in the zone.
No one else understands it. And so know if you are,
or no, if you don't, because to be an entrepreneur
you have to have that. It's just that's the one
thing you have to have that there's no no and
(29:32):
that drive and you have no reason to know that yes,
it's gonna happen. No no, no reason. You didn't go
through four years of law school and then you're three
years and then you get to be a lawyer, or
four years and then you get to be a doctor.
You could be at zero after five years of doing
the same ship in your garage. So you gotta have
that blind faith. What did you honestly think of the
(30:00):
experience on Shark Tank. It was amazing. I mean it was,
you know, like it made my sort of career. It
gave us credibility and awareness. It was it was I mean,
it was a huge moment, Like it was like as
a I would say, it's like a you know, an
amateur athlete going to the Olympics, like like that's what
it felt like. You know, it was like that kind
of credibility that it gave you going on Shark Tank
as someone who like went on and then built the
(30:20):
largest company ever to go on and then being like
that to me is like unreal, Like it literally is
like an out of body experience. So that was the
number one thing, like not a cover of a magazine
or whatever. That was the number thing one thing in
your career so far that has really said, Wow, the
Emperor has closed. Yeah, I'd say, and it maybe even
like by by a lot, because I don't like goals
because they again, they create ceilings. And I would say,
(30:41):
like if I had gotten you know, I was about
to go on Shark Tank, if I had said to you, oh, hey,
I'm going on Shark Tank next week, and guess what,
I'm gonna be so successful, but I had to come
back and be a shark, he'd be like this guy
is smoking, like like this guy's out of his mind,
like like walk before you run, kid, And so he
never set goals that are like as high as what
you could actually achieve. That's a full circle moment and
you'll have more. But I get that too, because I've
(31:03):
had some crazy stuff happen. And I had a similar
experience only because I was on The Apprentice with Mark
Burnett and that's the first time I saw him since
I was just a regular broke person in a studio.
I kea furnished apartment. And the first time I saw
Mark Burnett since that experience was at that press thing
for being a Shark and I he was like, we
both were freaked out. We're just like, this is a
full circle moment. So I I it's good to cherish
(31:26):
those moments. It's good to really be humbled by things
like that. It's nice that you feel that way because
those are the best things. They don't it's not money,
it's not it's not you deal with Amazon, which is insane,
But it's those moments that you're like, I'm real, it's real.
It's got to be real. And I think it goes
into what you were saying about, like the pushing and
going past the nose and everything. It's like people see
that and I think they think that it's something that
(31:47):
like maybe that you or I have that they don't have.
And I think what it is when you find your passion,
you are not willing to take note. Like if if
you believe in something, you're not willing to take no.
And so I think the problem is a lot of
times when you're a mercenary in your transaction and like
I'm gonna do this business to make a million dollars,
Like that's not something that like you're gonna push through
a note you gotta be like it's it's like you
(32:09):
do it because like you have that just that like
you love what that is and you need to win
at it and you need to do it and you
need to like you're doing it for someone else or
something else, and like it's like that's the it's like
building blocks. You're just doing one thing that you love
executing and then you get to the next thing. I
that that's some people have a different style, but I
relate to what exactly what you're talking about? Have you? Um, so,
how did you know how to went to hold and
(32:31):
went to fold and how much to keep in the deal?
How to do the whole thing? Like and who and
did you ever meet Jeff Bezos? Does he think that
you're great? Like what's that whole getting a call from Amazon?
Or how did that whole thing go? Down, so they
it took a while. We've been working with them and
doing stuff like because we had the video and they
had the audio with Alexa and they wanted to like
(32:51):
so just as a business we were like working with them.
Over time. I loved their culture, like the their culture
felt very like Jeff calls it day one, like very entrepreneurial. Um,
Like I love what they were sort of doing the
people there, So I really liked it. And I'd always
joke with them and said, like, listen, if I don't
want to ever sell this, if I ever do sell
(33:12):
it like I will, I'll sell to you like I
And then would just like laugh like not like China whatever.
And then and who are you talking to about this?
Who are you saying this to? It was like this
guy Dave Limp, who's now my boss, who runs all devices,
just like somebody exacts there and stuff. I would just
you know, just kind of say it like, you know,
like you guys are awesome. I'd love to be part
of this. And we'd always kind of laugh. And then
that one of the corpse of people came down the
(33:34):
corp development is like who buys companies inside of big
companies and he said I'll have lunch, and like I've
been you know, I've seen these people all the time,
so it wasn't like crazy. We go sit down have
lunch and he said like listen, I think it's time
and I'm like it was like one of those like
really awkward dating moments which I have not been part
of for a very long time. But so I didn't
know what to do put a ring on it? To
put a ring on it? Yeah, And so like trying
(33:55):
not to just jump over and be like yes, you know,
like let's do this, like because I like, any I
wouldn't they'll say like time for us to you know,
I don't know, like go have another meeting like I like,
and so so it end up yeah, I mean so
then that was the start of the thing, you know,
and it took a couple of months and it was
it was crazy as all deals are. Yeah, I don't
(34:16):
know how any deal gets done, like having done them
on the inside the outside, having now bought like stuff.
It's just there's so many intricacies and emotions, and it's
my belief that deals get done when they're jammed up
and they're not getting done. You get on the phone
and you really hammer it out. And I'm not against lawyers,
A lot of people against lawyers, but I just don't
(34:36):
think they know how to communicate like people because everything
is about killer be killed, and they don't want their
clients to fucking come after them when they don't hammer
down a point right, And you often get on with
the person. I just did a deal, a great deal
with I heart, and I had to get on the
phone with them, like let's talk this through. Willing to
give that, willing to not give that, Let's do this. Okay,
me in the middle of that, you really want that? Okay,
well I really want this, and then it usually can
(34:58):
work out. But you can get screwed if you're just
listening to other people. Don't assume other people are smarter
than you. I think that's a big one, you know.
So what what what is your function? Now? Like? What
is your title? Obviously they wanted you, they didn't want
it without you. You are it, You run it, you
are the mastermind behind it. So what are you? So?
I still I've called myself at Ring the chief inventor
from now the beginning, so I've always been kind of
(35:20):
made up my own title chief inventor. I don't. I'm
not an operator. I never have been, and so it
was part of like, again, my success was not trying
to tell my team, hey, I'm an operator, I'm a CEO,
I'm a president, like and there are people that are that.
I just I'm just not. And so I'm still the
chief inventor at Ring. You know, it's super busy, like
running it, focused on it, still doing it. It's now
(35:41):
been over three years since the purchase, and we've been
growing and delivering great products and still inventing crazy stuff,
which is super like that's my passion is like getting
into the products. So like after this, I'll be on
calls all day going into like issues with why a
sensor on our drone is not functioning the way it
should and figuring that out. So I like to geek
(36:02):
out all that stuff. So you're doing what you love.
Does your son like it? My son, yeah, he's I
mean he's twelve, so he's kind of like, you know,
he's a twelve year old who likes basketball, football, those
kind of things. But but we just we actually just
in Nantucket when you got this little coffee shop now,
and so he's really excited about like working like he's been,
like doing the cash register and stuff at the coffee
shop for business. That's his thing right now, is like
(36:23):
the coffee shop, which is just fine. I think that's
that's great. What can you tell me which one? Because
I saw you outside of it. It's called Handlebar Handlebar
in Nantucket. It's like a little little coffee shop just
off the main street. I'm excited. Okay, So I don't
want to keep it along. You're very busy. So how
has two questions? And that's it? So about home security
during the pandemic, what the trends and the data says,
(36:45):
and then also about how important e commerce has been
during this pandemic and what would have happened to your
business in your mind if you didn't have a really
strong e commerce presence because a lot of people here
I am really trying to drill into them to really
gear up their e commerce. And even myself, I'd just
launched my own marketplace because I had not had a
great presence, to be honest, and it was like I
was a dinosaur. And it takes a lot of work
(37:07):
and you have to have it downpat and it's really
important and for you it seems like it comes easy
because you're tech guy, but for other people, it's not
that easy. So I wanted to talk about the pandemic
and e commerce. The pandemic obviously for people that were
affected by it. I mean there's people that have just
been just businesses wiped out. I mean lost loved one.
So like I think, like you can't closs over that. Um.
From our side as a business, you know, certainly tough
(37:28):
to go through. I mean, customer service had to go
virtual within a few days. Um, you know, thousands of
people had to like you know, go from being in
an office to out. So it was a lot of
that kind of stuff, and proud of the team being
able to sort of make all through that without sort
of losing anyone in the process in terms of like
customers or anything that's happening. Um. People did focus on
their homes during the pandemic. You see it in home
(37:48):
depot stock. I mean, like people upgraded things and so
there was a lot of that going on, and home
security is definitely a part of upgrading the home. So
we did see a lot of that over the last
you know, twelve months. And then e commerce to your point,
I mean I think you to me, I mean commerce
as part of like controlling your own destiny, um, and
so being able to reach customers and so somewhat of
(38:11):
a direct manner, whether it's marketplace on Amazon or doing
your own shop or going into you know, retailers, like
but I think you wanna you want to be where
customers are and sort of all those places, and certainly,
I mean e commerce became critical over the pandemic, and
I think we'll see interesting trends from that. As now
people are like, like, my mother in law never really
(38:31):
bought stuff online. Um, now she's you know, like she's
an Amazon, Like, I think there's an Amazon box there
every day. That's amazing. Yeah. Well, I do think that
the pandemic has taught us things that we're so in
shock right now that we can't really utilize them or
understand how insanely important they've been. But later, when the
dust settles, people were really just having just walking through
New York City and seeing people that have complete outdoor restaurants,
(38:53):
like it looks like they've built entire homes outside, and
it's just you're proud of them for just being like,
I gotta deal with this. I gotta put heaters and
I got to make a real and through a winter,
and like that sounds impossible, but there are so many
impossible things that will be possible. So my hope is
that it I hope, like if there's like one really
great thing that comes out of it, My hope is
that the kids that were taken out of school and
(39:14):
forced to go on Zoom that for them it will
democratize how they're able to get information that they've learned now,
this way of getting information that's broken apart from sort
of this institution of the school. And I really hope
that that allows kids to sort of find again like
their passion, find that like be able to sort of
(39:34):
like break that open more, especially in areas where they
weren't exposed to as much of that. And so that's
like my if I have a hope that in ten
or fifteen years, we'll see that this generation actually has
amazing things that come from them because of this, not
hurt by just being out of school. I agree. My
daughter started eating salad, she started using these like plastic
(39:57):
chef knives for kids, and cutting up and making her
own set valid and doing insane art like books and
books of art. So you're right, like it's there is
a place of yes in it. It's just hard for
people who can't afford to live to think about that.
But for the people that you know are listening that
have businesses, there is hope on the other side. Do
you have um, like a mantra or any sort of
thing you want to say that just close it out?
(40:18):
Not a mantra, you know. I think having a mission
that does something good for people is like, like, to me,
that's like my macro. Like if anyone asked me, like
how do you do this or how do you get successful?
And like, just have a mission that does something good
for people. And it doesn't mean like you're literally saving children,
like you know, it could be like you're feeding people,
you're giving them better coffee. Like it doesn't have to
(40:39):
be like a create but but do something that you
really feel like is sort of making the world better.
And when you do that, I think everything kind of
starts to fall in. I like it, and it's true, Yeah,
you could do two things at the same time. You
can make money and also solve a problem and help
some people too. Well. I know that you're so busy
and I'm so appreciative of your time, and I really
thank you for being here. It's exciting. Well, thanks for
(40:59):
having me and congrats on the engagement. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. From the ring master himself. So
Jamie was amazing. He started his business in his garage.
He's an inventor. He's an interesting person. He started from
the bottom and he took a chance on himself. And
(41:21):
he's a person who realizes it really does take a village,
and that means working with and having a partner in
your life who really backs you up and supports you
and work and in all areas of life. And the
best ideas come from finding a hole in the market,
something that you would actually use and making yourself and
then hustling like none other passion, drive and determination. So
(41:45):
if you like this episode, share this with others, remember
to rate, review and subscribe. Thank you. Us B is
hosted and executive produced by me Bethany Frankel Just be As,
a production of be Real Productions and I Heart Radio.
(42:09):
Our managing producer is Fiona Smith and our producer is
Stephanie Stender. Our EP is Morgan Levoy. To catch more
moments from the show, follow us on Instagram at just
be with Bethany
I want to talk about something controversial that's been coming
up more and more, which is photoshop filtering what we
called in my day air brushing. I don't know if
magazines these days photoshop or face tune or what the
terminology is now, but basically, back when I was younger,
(00:34):
it was magazines like Cosmo and Mademoiselle and Glamour, and
it would be controversial and a conversation that people would
look at ads and they would say, well, I mean
she doesn't eat. Of course they show these pictures these
girls don't eat. Plus they're air brushed, you know, but
it was really not We didn't really understand how that
could possibly work because we didn't understand how the sausage
(00:56):
got made. That was such a foreign concept. And years ago,
I remember, um I was in a PA ad that
said I'd rather go naked than where fur, and people
were saying that it was totally airbrushed or photoshopped or
whatever terminology we used ten plus years ago, and I
posted the real picture of my butt that day before
what they posted, which really was not that much different.
(01:18):
I mean, it probably was just smooth it out a little.
It wasn't like it reduced it or padded it or anything.
It was a very similar picture, and I felt the
need to do that because I can understand how people
are frustrated. They're living their lives, normal people that are attractive,
that take care of themselves, that work out, that take
a picture and think that they can just post it normally,
(01:41):
just take a picture and post it, which is what
I often do, and I very often post myself in
stories just the way that I look. And then people
will say, we've had tons of plastic surgery. I've had
a breast lift, and I get the occasional, not as
often as I probably should botox, but um, years ago
I tried filler. Um, I don't do filler because um
(02:04):
it like bruises you and leaves spots in other places.
So you can see if you look on my story,
I'm sure when this airs, i'll show you at my
sharp pay forehead. But I have not had plastic surgery.
I have not had a nose job. You can look
at my pictures from when I was young in high
school and this is my nose, and people it makes
people feel better to say, oh, well, you've had so
much plastic surgery. And I get that, but I haven't.
(02:24):
And when I take pictures of myself and post them
on a beach, it's really my body in the bathing suit,
and I can have a flat bud and you know,
my boobs which did have a lift probably ten twelve
years ago, to sag a little bit. I like that
because it means that they're more real and authentic. I
don't really care what I look like if I'm going
to be in a magazine or if I'm paying to
have hair and makeup, and things are sort of quote
(02:46):
unquote supposed to look good, and then I don't look good.
I get frustrated. But but believe me, even having hair
and makeup on, I don't like the way that I
look often because it becomes too sort of black Mscara
And yesterday I had to makeup on and then I
ended up in the corner of my eyes and I
feel sloppy and I just feel gross. I hate the
feeling of hair makeup. I really don't like it. It
is what I consider to be a necessary evil when
(03:08):
I am working and when I'm getting paid. But also
because you're now competing with so many people that are
really taking this to the next level with the filters,
and the contouring and the air brushing and all this stuff.
So we're already competing with people who have ad nauseum
plastic surgery, who can afford to have hair extensions, waste censures,
(03:32):
plastic surgery, Tommy tucks, breast lifts, uh, lash extensions, you
name it. People can buy it. So then in addition
to that, which is totally inaccessible to the majority of
the population, in addition to that, now you have these filters.
So now people are taking a picture of themselves. They
can't afford plastic surgery, and no cream in a jar
(03:54):
is going to give you the same effect this plastic surgery.
No matter how much people want to lie to you.
Skincare is about consistency and health in your gin and
not breaking out. But no one's gonna make you look
like you had a facelift with a cream, So don't
ever believe that it's bullshit. In addition, you now look
at people's pictures and they don't look like them, and
you know it, but you love the picture, so you
like it and you envy it and you aspire to
(04:15):
it the way that you would diamonds or jewelry or
something that really rich people have so maybe it's not
that different, but it's making people feel bad about themselves,
and it's making younger women feel inferior and that they
have to keep up. So as a mother of a tween,
I don't want my daughter to feel that she has
(04:37):
to keep up. I don't like the idea of her
feeling bad about herself because she doesn't look like the
pictures that she sees. And while much of this sexuality
has been great in sexuality selling in you know, curve
your bodies being more in and people embracing their curves
and having a bigger booty, etcetera, it's led to a
lot of butt implants and fake hair and fake everything,
(05:00):
and then people air brushing or filtering or face tuning
or whatever you call it and getting caught. So then
they get caught and it's like, so what are we
presenting If you're selling products that are about beauty and
living your best life and looking better and you're showing
yourself on a computer generated image, should there be a
(05:21):
disclaimer that says this was retouched so at least people
will feel better about themselves. I want to know what
you actually think about this, because I was I'm doing
the Kelly Clarkson show, and on the pre interview, the
producer said, you show yourself like Kelly just in no
hair and makeup, and you know, with no filters or
air brushes or whatever you call it, and you know,
(05:44):
we appreciate that, and and and what what do you
feel about that topic? So it is a topic. So
if I see everybody else with no black circles and
everybody looking perfect, and everyone's butt perky and high and
no wrinkles whatsoever and all of that, I'm going to
feel bad about myself. And I'm not even vain. So
what it going to do to people that are vain?
And what's it going to do to young girls who
are insecure about their bodies, battling with uh not getting
(06:06):
eating disorders, having body dysmorphia, going through the change hormonal
change parts of our bodies growing and changing, and feeling
awkward about that. I just I think there's a responsibility
that people, especially who are in the public eye, have
to accurate body image portrayal. That's how I feel about that,
all right, So I do want to hear about what
(06:27):
you think. Please message me, please post on my Instagram.
I'd just like to hear what you think about everything.
Thank you. My guest today is Jamie simonof the founder
and chief inventor of Ring. He created the world's first
WiFi video doorbell while working in his garage in two
(06:48):
thousand eleven. His company was acquired by Amazon in two
thousand eighteen, but he continues to innovate and remain at
the cutting edge of home security. Today we talk about
the importance of taking a chance sign yourself, how million
dollar ideas come from passion, and how hard work tilts
winning in your favor. Jamie's story is incredibly inspiring and
(07:09):
I think you're really going to love this episode. Hello
where are you? I mean Los Angeles? So did you
um move there? Where? Did I see you in Nantucket
on the street? And you had moved there? But wasn't
it temporaries? It now like full time or something was changing.
(07:31):
So Los Angeles is where I live. And then we
spent a ton of time in Nantucket this summer because
obviously like there was nothing else to do. So and
so your business has always been based in l A. Yeah, ye,
Santa Monica. So I met your wife and I met
your son. Does your is your wife a business person?
She's she makes movies. Oh really, that's the she did
the that's my movie posters. Bed. I'm in like the
(07:53):
Poolhouse where like all the movies posters are. Did you
have the fault in Our Stars? That was like her
big movie? Wow? Um yeah, she's all the altbit in
the Chipmunks movies, which is like made money. But that's
like lesson, you know, like less exciting to talk about.
That's pretty exciting in my house. I've seen them all
many times, many times. Yeah, exactly, So I'm sorry. Through
(08:13):
the show, which is about really success stories and mavericks,
people who've sort of done their own way, nontraditional path
to business people that it's been like sort of a
circuitous root, and other people who may not be so
traditional or could be corporate, find sort of their own
toolbox to business through the similarities the commonalities through you
(08:35):
and other people who have undeniably achieved success. But one
of the things that we have that's sort of been
uncovered here is relationship success. So you how long have
you been married? That don't put me on the spot
on that one. I think it's in two thousands six
so that years okay, So a minute, okay, So you
(08:56):
and I didn't. I didn't remember that your wife was
also like undeniably successful. So how do you balance whose
turn it is, who's where the fish are. Let's say
that your wife had to move somewhere for her business,
which you're in l A. So that wouldn't really necessarily happen,
but let's say she did, or you would have to
move to Silicon Valley for some reason. How do you
(09:17):
balance what's more important? There's never the time that everybody's
lined up, So how do you work that whole program
of having and also just having time and not being
sucked in? Because when two people are business people, all
you do is talk about it and it gets annoying.
So luckily, like I mean, luckily, the stuff she does
is different enough from what I do that it doesn't
like we don't have that we're not in the same
(09:39):
sort of thing, which I think is actually like for me,
is healthy because it's we're different enough that we can
talk about what we're doing, but it's not like we
know each other's like other people in the business or
something with it. She's been, I mean, it's incredibly supportive
of me and like what I've been able to do,
and I don't think you can do it like I don't.
It takes a village, like it takes the people around you,
I think to be successful, and so like that support
(10:02):
is huge. And then do you know, I like my
son is the most important thing, and so to me,
it like kind of works backwards from there and what
about like connectivity. Grant Cardone said something interesting to me.
He said, I have to work on me. I can't
work on you, meaning his wife, like he works on himself,
he's not gonna work on her. Which we often when
we're not feeling great or edgy, we might say to
(10:22):
the person with us, we could we could be critical,
or you're doing that. You you you, And I thought
that was interesting that he said that. I don't know,
like we don't. I don't think we've ever like thought
about how we do this. Wow, that's good. Which is
just kind of funny. As you say, is I'm like, well,
like maybe I should like put more, but we just
kind of I guess we made it work. I mean
it's like we're I think it's good, um, but but
(10:43):
it's funny. I just yeah, I think we just kind
of like, I mean, we talked like all day and
you know, like stuff and just kinda um, I've also
always traveled from when I've met Like when I met her,
I had a little business and was doing stuff. So
I think we've always been in this sort of like
we've kind of lived separate lives together where like we've
never been like it wasn't like we were like this
wrecking crew little couple like young and then like all
(11:05):
of a sudden like started doing stuff like got it.
So maybe that's what it's like, we just have always been. Yeah,
that's a commonality. That's exactly what Jesse's Okay, So that's
that's why I was digging for that because I'm finding
that I may I made you another show about that
successful you know, the double entanga to successful relationship, successful
people having successful relationships. So yes, just so you know,
(11:26):
that's what I found, Like people who really let you
be you and some of my best girlfriends because travel
makes them more connected and travel makes it not insufferable,
and people being honest about so anyway that that I
just wanted to see. I think it's also like it's
like not worrying about the optics of what people think
you should be doing in your relationship is super important
because like I remember people being like you guys, like
(11:47):
you've been away for all this time, like how are you? Like,
how is it working? And it's like I don't And
then I'd be like, well, I don't know, like it
it seems to be though, like it seems actually great.
That's a great point because I'm long distance from Paul,
but it works. But funny because were talking about Nantuckett
and I'm in the Hamptons a lot, and you also
have the factor and your kids. We have two. We
have different kids, so my daughter has needs and traveling
back and forth isn't always working for her. And we
(12:09):
were talking about that this morning. He's like, I have
to work, you know, I have to work on not
feeling bad if I'm somewhere and you're not there, what
would what would look like? It was so funny. We
just had this conversation, um which fly like I do, Like,
I mean, Paul good friend, but you know when went
to college together for a little bit. But but you know,
very upset that he did not ask his ring friend
(12:29):
for advice before getting a ring. I mean, like I
gotta I mean, I have to say, like I'm a
little little hurt on that, so like I'm coming in,
you know, a little hot to this thing. It's so
funny because he did bring that up when I said
I was interviewing. He said, all right, we'll have to
ask him the expert on the ring, what he thinks
about the ring. That's really funny. So yes, you came
up in this conversation. So for everybody listening, Paul, my fiance,
(12:50):
and uh Jamie are friends. And Jamie was also a
shark on Shark Tank as was I. So we have,
you know, similarities in our path and being entrepreneurial, and
we sat together at a wedding and you're very funny.
So I'm assuming you're the peacock and your household um
as I am, so all right, so let's get into
what we really want to talk about, which is that
was really what I do want to talk about. But
(13:10):
let's talk about this too, okay. So where did you
grow up and have you always sort of felt like
you were an entrepreneur even though I didn't even know
what an entrepreneur was until I was thirty seven years old.
So were you hustling as a kid? Would you selling things?
Were you doing bake sales and lemonade stands or things
like that. I was doing everything as a kid you
could do to make money. And it's funny that looking back,
(13:33):
it's amazing how clear things are when you look back,
but how cloudy they are when you're in them. And so,
like everyone like I was like hustling. I would do
like I would literally like I would grew up in
like kind of horse country in New Jersey. I would
shovel the stalls out from people's horse barns on the
way to school, I mean, any cooking crook. I did
everything I could do to like make money, and and
(13:53):
so I thought I was an entrepreneur. And so I
then went to Babson, which is a great entrepreneurial school,
and they like I learned lots about being an entrepreneur.
And I got out and I started like businesses, and
but looking back, I was not an entrepreneur. I was
an inventor. Like what I was really doing was I
was in the basement of the time that I had
free time. I was in the basement in this one
little room that had all my tools and all my
(14:15):
RC cars and all this stuff, and I was just
build I was building stuff, Like it's what it's and
to this day is what I love doing, Like I
love tinkering like that is like my my favorite place
to be is just It's why I like having like
a boat, because boats break all the time, Like I
like everyone complains about that, Like that's what I like
about the boat, Like I know it's gonna break and
(14:35):
I'll be able to fix it. That's amazing. I like
houses for that. I don't want I never want to
really buy a house that doesn't have things wrong with it.
It gets me aggravated and it becomes too much of
a time stock project. But I'm sort of addicted to
it because I just love to fiddle. I call it fiddling.
So Paul will say when we go to the Hampton sometimes,
like I'll say to him, like to want credit, Like
I really haven't fiddled that much today, Like I just
(14:56):
need to be always organizing something, fixing something, repairs something.
Not the same way as you. I'm not an inventor.
I am an inventor of ideas, but now in that
same way. But I relate to that sort of fixation
that you have with that, Um, well it was your
did your parents have money today and still work hard
in you or you were not giving you any money
or is it just is it just innate? We were
like middle class, mean we were like I like we
(15:18):
were middle class, but we weren't like certainly not rich.
And my parents are pretty not like tight with money,
but like tight with like giving me money for things
I wanted and so like I wanted to get a
four wheeler and They're like, you're not getting a four
wheeler and I'm like, I really want one another and
then not getting one. So then I like worked and
I bought a four wheeler. Um, like I wanted a car.
I was so like I was very independent, so like
(15:40):
I had a I had a bike, and I would
bike everywhere, you know, before I had a license. And
in New Jersey, like people lived ten fifteen miles away
and I lit a bike over to like a friend's house,
and the parents would be like, there's no way you
biked here from where you live, and I'm like, yeah, yeah,
I spent like the last two hours, you know, like
I biked here. You like getting immersed in something. It
sounds like you like to do so think all the
(16:00):
way and execute, Yeah I do execute. That is like
I think one of the lucky side effects in my
brain or whatever is that. Inventors a lot of times
don't execute um Like there's great I people email me
all the time. I have this great invention, this great
idea and a lot of them, but they are great
ideas and they hate my response, which is like they
(16:22):
want like how do I get this out? What do
I do? And I'm like, just go do it freaking
execute like like you can do it, like like you
the power is in you, and they hate that. They
want the like Jamie simonov is gonna come in and
just like you know, like like kind of the shark
tank thing, like like just I'm just gonna like give
them everything. And yeah, no, I know, but it's very
(16:43):
difficult for many people. People have to really dig deep
and go with their gut and find their gut and
find their passion. But not everyone knows that, and that's
very challenging. You knew you liked tinkering, So take me
through this process. You probably had many jobs and then
(17:06):
you you hit the jackpot or you created joan jackpot.
I don't know how much of that was luck and
how much of that was hard work. So I actually, like,
I mean, so I did like a bunch of little
businesses and people are like, oh, you're a serial entrepreneur.
That's like so cute. I like pat me on the
head and I'd be like, I'm not a serious. I'm
a really frustrated person. Like I'm a frustrated human being,
Like I don't want to be doing a thousand businesses,
like that's not fulfilling. I just can't figure out. Like
(17:28):
and I finally had like a midlife entrepreneurial crisis, and
I said, I said to my wife, I said, I'm
going in the garage. I have a hundred, you know,
hundreds of ideas written down on my phone in the
notes thing, and I'm just gonna start building them. Like
I hate I keep getting into these businesses, but I
want to just like tinker and I'm an inventor. And
I'm like I'm done. I'm like, I'm so. I literally
(17:50):
went in the garage. People thought I lost my mind.
Were you financially secure or were you having noise and
money money noise? No? I mean we my wife was
you know, Aaron was making decent money, but like not
enough for us to do that forever. Like certainly, like
I had to, you know, kick it up. A notch.
Did you feel did you feel a certain way gender
wise with your wife making more money than you did
(18:10):
at that time? I never have had that, like you know,
that's that's good. And I think like true entrepreneurs don't
think of like they're the most diverse, the most like
because I think you like you don't have these like
social structures of things that you think about because like
you care about like getting an invention out doing like
you don't like like those other things sort of I
(18:30):
think like I don't. I don't know, I don't see
them as much, like, yeah, you don't have time for that.
You're just like in the zone. Yeah, like I want
to go in vent Like great, my wife works, Like
that's awesome, Like good for us. You know, it's like
that's evolved. You're the simplicity and it is very evolved.
That's interesting. So all right, so you're in the garage
for two years and then and we're doing like I
mean I literally had like I did. I was trying
to do these things called snap garden, which was like
(18:51):
these growing tiles that would go on your patio. So
I had all these tables out in our We had
this tiny little backyard and not all these tables that
we're doing, all these growing things. I mean it looked
like a pot farm. Um it wasn't like it should
have been a more profitable but it wasn't. And um,
so we had all this. I mean, I mean like
literally people come over and they'd be like this, like
your husband has lost like you're going to work. This
(19:12):
is like he's building gardening tables in your backyard, Like
this is a disaster, like Christopher Lloyd and Black Back
to the Future. I mean hopefully yeah, like a little
better looking, but hopefully. Um. And and so I couldn't
hear the doorbell and I'm in like my little garage
and I couldn't can't hear the doorbell, like and I like,
(19:33):
I just got an iPhone and I went online and
I looked for a WiFi doorbell because I just had
to exist. Like that's actually an interesting inventor thing is
It's not a lot of people think they've always invented
something and it actually exists. I always think it exists
and then I'm shocked that it doesn't. Like it's it's
like almost the opposite same. I do the same exact thing.
I know exactly what we're talking about the obvious things.
(19:55):
I mean, the locality Margarita is the most obvious thing
you've heard in your life. And I couldn't believe that
no one had ever done before. Yeah, And so like
the WiFi doorbell, I went to buy one, Like I'm like,
there must be a hundred zero no one like like
just didn't exist. And I'm like, so I'm like screwing.
So I go in there. What do I do? Like
I'm a tinker, Like I take a camera and the thing,
and I put this thing together and I throw it
(20:15):
on the front door so that I couldn't hear the doorbell.
Like it goes to my phone, and I shared the
thing with with my with Aaron, and instead of her like,
I mean this was horrible looking on the front door,
I mean like you know, like the front doors, like
the entrance to the home and like this little home
and the you know, it's our little like starter home
and like and instead of her kicking the thing off
the side of the door, she's like, this makes me
(20:36):
feel safer. This is your best best thing you've ever
come up with, which is almost like insulting to me
because it wasn't an invention. It was like I was
just solving my problem for being in the garage, right right,
I know what you're saying, Like it was just solving
a problem while you worked on the other inventions. Yeah,
like I had real inventions. I was working on I
got some other Okay, that's amazing. So when how many
(20:56):
years ago was that? Two eleven? Okay, so what happens next?
So I still know it's it's not an AHA moment um.
I end up kind of like playing when it playing
with other stuff. I finally get to this point where
we like kickstarters going, and so we tried to launch
our own kickstarter thing. We put it on the that
that and then people started to like, you know, they
(21:18):
started pre buying it. And it was when I heard
so this this like I mean like a couple of
the stick out. But there was this one woman in
like Stockton, California, which is like kind of north and
like the kind of suburbs like in the middle of California,
and she emailed me and said, like I bought this thing.
It's so genius because my neighbor's house got broken into
and we're you know, I'm always away at the market
(21:38):
or whatever, and like now if someone came and they
rang the doorbell, I could act like I'm home and
and like that would stop that. And I was like,
and so I had thought it could do that, and
my wife's saying it made me think you could do it.
My worry was that no one would realize it could
do that, and the cost of marketing that would be
too high. And when I saw that people actually like
naturally saw the benefit. That was so like that email
(22:01):
to me, like I still remember, like we're like sitting
in the garages and being like this could be something
like like people are seeing the value of it. Okay,
I got it. And for people who don't know explain
what the function is, I'm sure it's evolved now because
because of Paul, because of you. I have one on
my back door, but I literally do not own a computer.
I don't own an iPad. I don't know how to
(22:22):
download anything. I am literally I may as well have
a Beta Max, So don't get upset with me. I
have zero music on my phone. I am just on
my own weird like nerd. That's the opposite of you,
just in other like old school ways. So anyway, I
don't know exactly how to use it in what it
exactly does? I know that Paul put it in there,
somebody put it, and I've seen it because I see
the logo and it's very attractive. I don't understand exactly.
(22:44):
So tell for the dumb dumbs like me, and we
may have a lot of dumb dumbs like me, exactly
what it was and what it is and what it
does and what happened. So the first ring was it
basically allowed you to deliver presence to your front door.
So when someone would come motion detection or they pressed
the doorbell button, you get an alert and you could
see and talk to who is at your front door.
(23:07):
And so that was really the like and and that
was in in the home security. The interesting thing was
that everyone else that was building devices for home security
was building the opposite, which is someone breaks your door
open and it tells you, you know, like an alarm like.
So everything was sort of the to, like the after,
not the before, and so we sort of this idea
(23:27):
of presence of being able to sort of interact with
who's around your home was kind of like and and
that was like when my wife said, this makes me
feel safer, like that what the invention was the mission
which became to make neighborhood safer. Like that was that's
really like it's not the doorbell or the physical product,
it's like the mission of doing that created a whole
(23:48):
line of products then that that do that. I get
it the concept. Now, So are you would you say
that this is democratizing what security systems were? That's what
You're the one who's pretty much democratized secure home security systems.
I mean certainly we I mean just the numbers show it,
like we we have more security systems. I think that.
I mean, like you know, we're over ten million households now. Um, so,
(24:11):
I mean like it's it's it's it's definitely done that
and it's brought down the price points to sub hundred
dollars to have you know, what I would consider like
good security things for your home that you couldn't access before.
I mean cameras. I mean ten years ago, there weren't
camera systems were very expensive, and so we took like
what was like on a high end home that maybe
was you know, literally twenty dollars, and now you're you know,
(24:33):
you can get the same exact thing for you know,
sub five hundred. It's amazing. How so, so you did
not have a partner, this is your own thing. I didn't. Yeah,
I was the sole founder. So you were the sole founders.
So you start selling these I guess online. You did
get money from Kickstarter, Like, what's that process to get
you to being purchased? And how do you make the decision?
I've been in the situation, not for what I believe
(24:55):
like the numbers that you were talking about, but how
do you make that decision to um, let go and
realize that you're not going to take it the whole
way and you're gonna get swallowed in legal bills or
whatever the hell that I was thinking, Because you have
to at some point let go, and you know, you
want the street cred and the presence of the deal
to propel you. So how does that whole process work? So,
I mean, you know, we we started Kickstarter, get some
(25:17):
money going, thought it was enough to get it actually going.
It wasn't. I ended up like going deep in the
hole with the thing. Um, you know, it was a
pretty bad. Like so, and in Shark Tank, I get
lucky to sort of somehouse sort of all of a sudden,
I'm like on Shark Tank and I, you know, figure
we're gonna get money there as a regular person. That's
so funny that I was on the Apprentice as a
(25:38):
regular contestant and then later you know, now I have
my own show. That's kind of you know, picking a
person to work for me. And that you were on
Shark Tank as a picture and then you became a shark.
So that's very fascinating interesting. Okay, so yeah, you were
on I forgot you were on Shark Tank pitching this
idea and like I was legitimately out of Moneyne did money.
(26:01):
Mark Cuban I was certain was going to invest and
was out in like within five seconds of me being
out there, like after my pitch, like he was like
this is great. Why he said he couldn't see it
being big. I had the same experience. So that's really
good for people to hear too, that you will here
know so much. You have to just dig down deep
and know if you have a good idea, you're right.
Who would think you did not think of a billion
(26:22):
dollar day? You would never even dream that big. I mean,
it's so funny because Jesse Hitzler says, you know what,
I think you want to have a billion dollar Ida
and think about the end zone. I was like you,
I just wanted it to be successful, make some money
on it. But I think when you look at like
the best businesses that have occurred over the last twenty
thirty years, they've come like Uber. You know, like Garrett
Camp starts Uber. He starts it because he can't get
(26:43):
cars in San Francisco and he's like a single guy's
going out, like he can't get like a car, and
it's always like he's a kind of a geek, and
so he, like you know, creates this little app and
does the thing for himself. And people thought it was
tiny because like how many people need to get black
cars on an app? Like what like the total black
car business is only x, the total taxi business only one,
and so you know, but then and so Uber, you know,
(27:05):
became a thing. So I think it is. But it's
like you have to have a passion for it. It
sounds like you are, and it sounds like you're one
of the few people that I've had here that I
could probably say the percentage of you being lucky is
a lot smaller than you being smart. And I'm counting
passion and drive and all that in it would you agree?
So I I do look at luck as a like
the lottery, and every hour of work you put in
(27:26):
you get another ticket and you're never guaranteed to win.
But if you put like more and more hours in,
you're gonna get more lottery tickets and at some point,
like you are tilting the like in your favor the
chance of winning. But I think that, I mean, there's
so many things that almost went wrong. I mean right
when we were selling to Amazon, like right before that,
we almost tank the business, um like literally like I
(27:47):
mean like like the difference was like sixty days of
how do I have to sell my house and what
what can I get to like signing a term sheet
with Amazon to sell it for over a billion dollars.
I get it. I get what you're saying because people
during the pandemic, if they could just find a way
to survive, they will This could be a gold rush
and they will thrive. But there's a day could make
(28:08):
the difference. A week in a business right now can
make a difference between failure and utter success. Like it's
literally black and white. Yeah, you could literally open everything
could be open next week, like and it's like you
just made it another week and so but that's to me,
that's luck. I mean it's not you can't fault someone
like if we had gone under, like it is what
it is, but you know then you just keep working
harder and harder. And what I did is like I
(28:28):
went on QBC and I saw I was like, literally,
I mean to like almost, I mean, you're you do
the same thing. Like I don't think people realize how
hard it is to do that, like that live TV.
Selling is like it's like it's like donating blood. It
is so hard. It's crazy, you're selling your set. You
I'll say it to myself. It's been four I could
be in like California right now in an airplane. I've
(28:50):
been talking for hours in a row. Yeah, it's crazy.
I know, like it's but like I I went on
like when the things are, they're worse, and I'm like,
we need to sell. Like I'm on there and I
am just like drinking. I'm drinking red Bull and T
like T for my throat, red Bull for like the thing,
and I'm like, I mean, it's it's just I know,
it's crazy. Well you have that you got and people
(29:12):
have to know whether you're a corporate person or whether
you're a maverick. Neither is wrong. You could be successful
in both. But some people don't have that thing where
they just are hungry in that way. You're in the zone.
No one else understands it. And so know if you are,
or no, if you don't, because to be an entrepreneur
you have to have that. It's just that's the one
thing you have to have that there's no no and
(29:32):
that drive and you have no reason to know that yes,
it's gonna happen. No no, no reason. You didn't go
through four years of law school and then you're three
years and then you get to be a lawyer, or
four years and then you get to be a doctor.
You could be at zero after five years of doing
the same ship in your garage. So you gotta have
that blind faith. What did you honestly think of the
(30:00):
experience on Shark Tank. It was amazing. I mean it was,
you know, like it made my sort of career. It
gave us credibility and awareness. It was it was I mean,
it was a huge moment, Like it was like as
a I would say, it's like a you know, an
amateur athlete going to the Olympics, like like that's what
it felt like. You know, it was like that kind
of credibility that it gave you going on Shark Tank
as someone who like went on and then built the
(30:20):
largest company ever to go on and then being like
that to me is like unreal, Like it literally is
like an out of body experience. So that was the
number one thing, like not a cover of a magazine
or whatever. That was the number thing one thing in
your career so far that has really said, Wow, the
Emperor has closed. Yeah, I'd say, and it maybe even
like by by a lot, because I don't like goals
because they again, they create ceilings. And I would say,
(30:41):
like if I had gotten you know, I was about
to go on Shark Tank, if I had said to you, oh, hey,
I'm going on Shark Tank next week, and guess what,
I'm gonna be so successful, but I had to come
back and be a shark, he'd be like this guy
is smoking, like like this guy's out of his mind,
like like walk before you run, kid, And so he
never set goals that are like as high as what
you could actually achieve. That's a full circle moment and
you'll have more. But I get that too, because I've
(31:03):
had some crazy stuff happen. And I had a similar
experience only because I was on The Apprentice with Mark
Burnett and that's the first time I saw him since
I was just a regular broke person in a studio.
I kea furnished apartment. And the first time I saw
Mark Burnett since that experience was at that press thing
for being a Shark and I he was like, we
both were freaked out. We're just like, this is a
full circle moment. So I I it's good to cherish
(31:26):
those moments. It's good to really be humbled by things
like that. It's nice that you feel that way because
those are the best things. They don't it's not money,
it's not it's not you deal with Amazon, which is insane,
But it's those moments that you're like, I'm real, it's real.
It's got to be real. And I think it goes
into what you were saying about, like the pushing and
going past the nose and everything. It's like people see
that and I think they think that it's something that
(31:47):
like maybe that you or I have that they don't have.
And I think what it is when you find your passion,
you are not willing to take note. Like if if
you believe in something, you're not willing to take no.
And so I think the problem is a lot of
times when you're a mercenary in your transaction and like
I'm gonna do this business to make a million dollars,
Like that's not something that like you're gonna push through
a note you gotta be like it's it's like you
(32:09):
do it because like you have that just that like
you love what that is and you need to win
at it and you need to do it and you
need to like you're doing it for someone else or
something else, and like it's like that's the it's like
building blocks. You're just doing one thing that you love
executing and then you get to the next thing. I
that that's some people have a different style, but I
relate to what exactly what you're talking about? Have you? Um, so,
how did you know how to went to hold and
(32:31):
went to fold and how much to keep in the deal?
How to do the whole thing? Like and who and
did you ever meet Jeff Bezos? Does he think that
you're great? Like what's that whole getting a call from Amazon?
Or how did that whole thing go? Down, so they
it took a while. We've been working with them and
doing stuff like because we had the video and they
had the audio with Alexa and they wanted to like
(32:51):
so just as a business we were like working with them.
Over time. I loved their culture, like the their culture
felt very like Jeff calls it day one, like very entrepreneurial. Um,
Like I love what they were sort of doing the
people there, So I really liked it. And I'd always
joke with them and said, like, listen, if I don't
want to ever sell this, if I ever do sell
(33:12):
it like I will, I'll sell to you like I
And then would just like laugh like not like China whatever.
And then and who are you talking to about this?
Who are you saying this to? It was like this
guy Dave Limp, who's now my boss, who runs all devices,
just like somebody exacts there and stuff. I would just
you know, just kind of say it like, you know,
like you guys are awesome. I'd love to be part
of this. And we'd always kind of laugh. And then
that one of the corpse of people came down the
(33:34):
corp development is like who buys companies inside of big
companies and he said I'll have lunch, and like I've
been you know, I've seen these people all the time,
so it wasn't like crazy. We go sit down have
lunch and he said like listen, I think it's time
and I'm like it was like one of those like
really awkward dating moments which I have not been part
of for a very long time. But so I didn't
know what to do put a ring on it? To
put a ring on it? Yeah, And so like trying
(33:55):
not to just jump over and be like yes, you know,
like let's do this, like because I like, any I
wouldn't they'll say like time for us to you know,
I don't know, like go have another meeting like I like,
and so so it end up yeah, I mean so
then that was the start of the thing, you know,
and it took a couple of months and it was
it was crazy as all deals are. Yeah, I don't
(34:16):
know how any deal gets done, like having done them
on the inside the outside, having now bought like stuff.
It's just there's so many intricacies and emotions, and it's
my belief that deals get done when they're jammed up
and they're not getting done. You get on the phone
and you really hammer it out. And I'm not against lawyers,
A lot of people against lawyers, but I just don't
(34:36):
think they know how to communicate like people because everything
is about killer be killed, and they don't want their
clients to fucking come after them when they don't hammer
down a point right, And you often get on with
the person. I just did a deal, a great deal
with I heart, and I had to get on the
phone with them, like let's talk this through. Willing to
give that, willing to not give that, Let's do this. Okay,
me in the middle of that, you really want that? Okay,
well I really want this, and then it usually can
(34:58):
work out. But you can get screwed if you're just
listening to other people. Don't assume other people are smarter
than you. I think that's a big one, you know.
So what what what is your function? Now? Like? What
is your title? Obviously they wanted you, they didn't want
it without you. You are it, You run it, you
are the mastermind behind it. So what are you? So?
I still I've called myself at Ring the chief inventor
from now the beginning, so I've always been kind of
(35:20):
made up my own title chief inventor. I don't. I'm
not an operator. I never have been, and so it
was part of like, again, my success was not trying
to tell my team, hey, I'm an operator, I'm a CEO,
I'm a president, like and there are people that are that.
I just I'm just not. And so I'm still the
chief inventor at Ring. You know, it's super busy, like
running it, focused on it, still doing it. It's now
(35:41):
been over three years since the purchase, and we've been
growing and delivering great products and still inventing crazy stuff,
which is super like that's my passion is like getting
into the products. So like after this, I'll be on
calls all day going into like issues with why a
sensor on our drone is not functioning the way it
should and figuring that out. So I like to geek
(36:02):
out all that stuff. So you're doing what you love.
Does your son like it? My son, yeah, he's I
mean he's twelve, so he's kind of like, you know,
he's a twelve year old who likes basketball, football, those
kind of things. But but we just we actually just
in Nantucket when you got this little coffee shop now,
and so he's really excited about like working like he's been,
like doing the cash register and stuff at the coffee
shop for business. That's his thing right now, is like
(36:23):
the coffee shop, which is just fine. I think that's
that's great. What can you tell me which one? Because
I saw you outside of it. It's called Handlebar Handlebar
in Nantucket. It's like a little little coffee shop just
off the main street. I'm excited. Okay, So I don't
want to keep it along. You're very busy. So how
has two questions? And that's it? So about home security
during the pandemic, what the trends and the data says,
(36:45):
and then also about how important e commerce has been
during this pandemic and what would have happened to your
business in your mind if you didn't have a really
strong e commerce presence because a lot of people here
I am really trying to drill into them to really
gear up their e commerce. And even myself, I'd just
launched my own marketplace because I had not had a
great presence, to be honest, and it was like I
was a dinosaur. And it takes a lot of work
(37:07):
and you have to have it downpat and it's really
important and for you it seems like it comes easy
because you're tech guy, but for other people, it's not
that easy. So I wanted to talk about the pandemic
and e commerce. The pandemic obviously for people that were
affected by it. I mean there's people that have just
been just businesses wiped out. I mean lost loved one.
So like I think, like you can't closs over that. Um.
From our side as a business, you know, certainly tough
(37:28):
to go through. I mean, customer service had to go
virtual within a few days. Um, you know, thousands of
people had to like you know, go from being in
an office to out. So it was a lot of
that kind of stuff, and proud of the team being
able to sort of make all through that without sort
of losing anyone in the process in terms of like
customers or anything that's happening. Um. People did focus on
their homes during the pandemic. You see it in home
(37:48):
depot stock. I mean, like people upgraded things and so
there was a lot of that going on, and home
security is definitely a part of upgrading the home. So
we did see a lot of that over the last
you know, twelve months. And then e commerce to your point,
I mean I think you to me, I mean commerce
as part of like controlling your own destiny, um, and
so being able to reach customers and so somewhat of
(38:11):
a direct manner, whether it's marketplace on Amazon or doing
your own shop or going into you know, retailers, like
but I think you wanna you want to be where
customers are and sort of all those places, and certainly,
I mean e commerce became critical over the pandemic, and
I think we'll see interesting trends from that. As now
people are like, like, my mother in law never really
(38:31):
bought stuff online. Um, now she's you know, like she's
an Amazon, Like, I think there's an Amazon box there
every day. That's amazing. Yeah. Well, I do think that
the pandemic has taught us things that we're so in
shock right now that we can't really utilize them or
understand how insanely important they've been. But later, when the
dust settles, people were really just having just walking through
New York City and seeing people that have complete outdoor restaurants,
(38:53):
like it looks like they've built entire homes outside, and
it's just you're proud of them for just being like,
I gotta deal with this. I gotta put heaters and
I got to make a real and through a winter,
and like that sounds impossible, but there are so many
impossible things that will be possible. So my hope is
that it I hope, like if there's like one really
great thing that comes out of it, My hope is
that the kids that were taken out of school and
(39:14):
forced to go on Zoom that for them it will
democratize how they're able to get information that they've learned now,
this way of getting information that's broken apart from sort
of this institution of the school. And I really hope
that that allows kids to sort of find again like
their passion, find that like be able to sort of
(39:34):
like break that open more, especially in areas where they
weren't exposed to as much of that. And so that's
like my if I have a hope that in ten
or fifteen years, we'll see that this generation actually has
amazing things that come from them because of this, not
hurt by just being out of school. I agree. My
daughter started eating salad, she started using these like plastic
(39:57):
chef knives for kids, and cutting up and making her
own set valid and doing insane art like books and
books of art. So you're right, like it's there is
a place of yes in it. It's just hard for
people who can't afford to live to think about that.
But for the people that you know are listening that
have businesses, there is hope on the other side. Do
you have um, like a mantra or any sort of
thing you want to say that just close it out?
(40:18):
Not a mantra, you know. I think having a mission
that does something good for people is like, like, to me,
that's like my macro. Like if anyone asked me, like
how do you do this or how do you get successful?
And like, just have a mission that does something good
for people. And it doesn't mean like you're literally saving children,
like you know, it could be like you're feeding people,
you're giving them better coffee. Like it doesn't have to
(40:39):
be like a create but but do something that you
really feel like is sort of making the world better.
And when you do that, I think everything kind of
starts to fall in. I like it, and it's true, Yeah,
you could do two things at the same time. You
can make money and also solve a problem and help
some people too. Well. I know that you're so busy
and I'm so appreciative of your time, and I really
thank you for being here. It's exciting. Well, thanks for
(40:59):
having me and congrats on the engagement. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. From the ring master himself. So
Jamie was amazing. He started his business in his garage.
He's an inventor. He's an interesting person. He started from
the bottom and he took a chance on himself. And
(41:21):
he's a person who realizes it really does take a village,
and that means working with and having a partner in
your life who really backs you up and supports you
and work and in all areas of life. And the
best ideas come from finding a hole in the market,
something that you would actually use and making yourself and
then hustling like none other passion, drive and determination. So
(41:45):
if you like this episode, share this with others, remember
to rate, review and subscribe. Thank you. Us B is
hosted and executive produced by me Bethany Frankel Just be As,
a production of be Real Productions and I Heart Radio.
(42:09):
Our managing producer is Fiona Smith and our producer is
Stephanie Stender. Our EP is Morgan Levoy. To catch more
moments from the show, follow us on Instagram at just
be with Bethany
Host
Bethenny Frankel
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