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Before doorbell company Ring was acquired by Amazon<\/a> in a reported $1 billion deal and became a fixture in over 10 million American homes<\/a>, the company was the tinkering project in the garage of founder and CEO Jamie Siminoff.<\/p>\n A doorbell that could connect to your phone, Ring\u2014originally called Doorbot\u2014was supposed to be cheap to produce, but instead became an undertaking that far exceeded what Siminoff had imagined.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt turns out we were way over our skis,\u201d he told Fortune<\/em> at its 2019 Brainstorm Tech conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n The desire to turn his garage invention into a viable business took him to reality-show Shark Tank <\/em>in 2013. Desperate for funds, he used the company\u2019s last $20,000 to build an elaborate set to pitch the product. \u201cI was completely broke when I went on the show,\u201d Siminoff said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Valuing Doorbot at $7 million and asking for $700,000 for a 10% stake, Siminoff touted the budding company\u2019s impressive online sales and a strong mission to make neighborhoods safer through increased surveillance as reasons to take a chance on it.<\/p>\n The fish didn\u2019t bite, and Siminoff\u2019s appearance on the show would foreshadow the less-than-straightforward path to Ring becoming a blockbuster product. The show\u2019s sharks weren\u2019t confident in the product\u2019s ability to sell, and billionaire investor Mark Cuban believed the company to be worth only $40 million. He would become one of hundreds of investors to say \u201cno\u201d to Siminoff.<\/p>\n The CEO recalled the sting of his drive home<\/a> after the show, where his three dogs awaited him in his garage that doubled as his company\u2019s headquarters. With so much energy sunk into the project\u2014as well as a heavily blurred boundary between his personal and work life given where he was operating his business\u2014Siminoff slogged forward, eventually gaining clarity on what went wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were at the point where we had sales, we had a good product, but we had such a complex business,\u201d Siminoff told Inc<\/em>. in 2018<\/a>. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t show how we were going to get to the next step. We were at that awkward adolescent phase.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Five years later, after Siminoff announced the deal with Amazon, another shark, Kevin O\u2019Leary, changed his tune on the product, calling it \u201cprobably the biggest miss\u201d in the show\u2019s history until that point.<\/p>\n So how did a Shark Tank <\/em>reject manage to build a billion-dollar company in five years\u2019 time? Though his time with the show\u2019s investors wasn\u2019t fruitful, Siminoff\u2019s 10-minute Shark Tank<\/em> appearance<\/a> did give him exposure and opportunities, including the chance to sell his product on QVC in 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cQVC is amazing,\u201d Siminoff said. \u201cIt teaches you what your product is, who your customer is, and how to sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n The CEO recalled finding his footing after over 100 \u201cgrueling\u201d hours of marketing the product on the network, including bringing in a record $22.6 million in sales in one day.<\/p>\n But the increased visibility also caught the attention of an unlikely bunch of investors, including basketball legend Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson. Having originally met Branson in 2001<\/a> in an airport hotel elevator in Brussels but failing to leave a message with a hotel concierge for the business magnate, Siminoff later found out Branson was among the investors who gave $28 million in the company\u2019s 2015 funding round.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat excites me about Ring is its efficient, convenient approach to crime prevention and home monitoring and also its entrepreneurial leadership team,\u201d Branson said in 2015<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m speaking as both an investor and a very happy customer.\u201d<\/p>\n Branson took a reported 5% stake<\/a> in the company.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Richard Branson asks if he can invest in your company, I think there\u2019s only one answer you can give,\u201d Siminoff said in 2015.<\/p>\n\nInvestors come ringing<\/strong><\/h2>\n