How Ring Founder Jamie Siminoff Fell in Love with Missouri
- March 14, 2024
In an ironic twist of fate, entrepreneur and inventor of the world’s first wifi doorbell, Jamie Siminoff appeared as a Guest Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank. Five years prior, he and his invention, now known as Ring, were rejected by the Sharks on the show and the Shark Tank rejection became famous when Siminoff sold Ring to Amazon for $1.2 billion.
During his appearance as a Guest Shark, Siminoff was introduced to quality of life in the Midwest after he invested in a Northeast Missouri meat company, Moink. He quickly fell in love with the small town of La Belle where Moink is headquartered, about 2.5 hours north of St. Louis, and subsequently purchased a farm there for his family.
Siminoff’s affection for La Belle transformed his initial business investment into a commitment to its community. Recognizing La Belle’s needs as a food desert, he has opened a coffee shop, organized pop-up restaurants, and updated the sidewalks to help stimulate the economy and improve the quality of life in the rural town of 600 people.
Traveling to and from La Belle from his home in California brought Siminoff through St. Louis on several occasions, which quickly opened his eyes to the midwestern city’s vibrant sports and food scene.
In the Inc.com article, What Jamie Siminoff Did After He Sold His Company to Amazon Is Perhaps Even More Fascinating Than His Billion-Dollar Exit, Siminoff describes how business travel prior to his investment in Moink typically took him from coast-to-coast, leaving St. Louis’ robust talent pool and business friendliness off his radar. Now, he’s made St. Louis the home-base of his newest venture, Door.com.
“This city is awesome!” Siminoff says, with the same enthusiasm he had when he mounted his first tractor in La Belle. He starts talking about the diversity, the Midwestern values, the Fortune 500 companies that call St. Louis home, and the depth of the local talent pool. “The overall quality of life relative to cost of living might be the best in the U.S.” He explains how his trips to La Belle opened his eyes to this city, where he’d stop to buy groceries before beginning the nearly three-hour drive to his farmhouse.
Qtd. in Inc. Magazine, Winter 2023/2024
Door joins several leading tech companies that call St. Louis home, such as Block Inc. (Square, CashApp), Mastercard, WorldWide Technology, Benson Hill, and Frogfish Inc., which chose the Missouri city as its North American Headquarters in 2024.
Siminoff is right about St. Louis’ robust talent pool and diverse business economy. According to Greater St. Louis, Inc., St. Louis is home to 42,000 computer and math workers and was named Top 10 Best Cities for Tech Jobs by Fortune Magazine.
Missouri’s diverse economy has made it more resilient to nationwide downshifts which has created more opportunities for businesses through innovation and creativity. In St. Louis alone, there are several innovation districts that are within miles of each other. Just a short drive around St. Louis will have you visiting some of the world’s most innovative geospatial, plant science, agtech, and human health innovation districts and businesses such as BRDG Park, NGA-West, Cortex, Bio STL, 39-North, The Globe Building, T-Rex, and more.
To learn more about Jamie Siminoff and his efforts to boost economic prosperity in Missouri, read the article, What Jamie Siminoff Did After He Sold His Company to Amazon Is Perhaps Even More Fascinating Than His Billion-Dollar Exit.