In 2013, during episode nine in the fifth season of entrepreneurial reality TV series Shark Tank (a show like Dragon’s Den for our UK readers), James Siminoff pitched his smart doorbell invention ‘DoorBot’ to the show’s panel of experienced investors. During the pitch, Siminoff sought a $700,000 investment for a 10% stake in DoorBot, valuing the company at $7 million. The idea was wholly rejected and Siminoff left empty handed to pursue his ambitions alone. Five years on and Siminoff’s firm, now called Ring, was acquired by Amazon this week for an estimated $1 billion or more. “Instead of being worth $7 million, this company could be worth $80-90 million, but i just don’t see that progression,” said “shark” Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks, co-owner of 2929 Entertainment and chairman of AXS TV, as he declined the investment. This is not an article about how badly the Sharks assessed this […]