{"id":6108,"date":"2021-01-08T21:01:06","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T19:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ucluster.org\/?p=6108"},"modified":"2024-03-21T13:32:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T11:32:33","slug":"how-top-ukrainian-startups-found-success-ring-a-smart-home-and-security-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ucluster.org\/en\/blog\/2021\/01\/how-top-ukrainian-startups-found-success-ring-a-smart-home-and-security-system\/","title":{"rendered":"How Top Ukrainian Startups Found Success: Ring \u2013 a Smart Home and Security System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article details the success of an American startup with Ukrainian roots: Ring – a home security and smart home company. You will learn how the talented entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff and his team achieved a great reputation with investors, high levels of sales, and worldwide recognition in the first year of the company’s operation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Website: ring.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founders: Jamie Siminoff and Lubomir Vasilyev<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offices: Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv. U.S.: Santa Monica, Pennsylvania. Europe: Amsterdam, London. Taiwan. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company Valuation: $1.2 – 1.8 billion <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total Funding: $209.2M<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees: >1500 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded In: 2013 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unicorn: From 2018<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Background<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As with many interesting projects from Southern California, the idea of Jamie Siminoff’s startup came to him in a garage. Jamie was often out for work and wanted to have a way to see who visited him, in case someone rang the doorbell, but he wasn\u2019t home. He came up with the idea of a device that would connect a camera to a smartphone, allowing the user to see home visitors live while they were away. In 2011, he gathered a small group of engineers and interns to develop his idea into reality. One year later, in December 2012, a team of five people introduced DoorBot (the initial name of the company and product) – a doorbell with a camera and Wi-Fi connection, which would show the residents of the house who was visiting when the doorbell was rung. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018, San Francisco, California.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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According to Jamie, it was challenging to create the final product, given the need to provide video streaming, instant messaging, a mobile app, and a battery life of one full year. However, even with a very small team and lack of funding, the first “smart” Rings were offered to customers as early as November 2013 – less than a year after the product was announced. In just one year, the company produced 20 thousand units and delivered them to buyers in 85 countries.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an entrepreneur, Siminoff first appeared on Shark Tank<\/em> in 2013, where he pitched the idea of his DoorBot project to the show hosts. Shark Tank<\/em> is an American reality TV show featuring entrepreneurs presenting their business ideas in front of a group of five investors, or “sharks”, who decide whether to invest in that company or not. Although the investors liked the idea of his product, no one invested in Jamie\u2019s company. However, 5 years later, the entrepreneur redeemed himself as he was invited to the show as a business shark himself. Jamie was thankful for his appearance and gave credit to Ring, and to his wife.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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