HOW DID SHAQUILLE O'NEAL HELP THE RING GET SOLD FOR $1.2-$1.8 BILLION?
Shaquille O’Neal isn’t just known for his amazing basketball career, but he’s also known for his astute business sense, which certainly helped when he chose to invest in the Ring.
For those who don’t know, the ‘Ring’ doorbell is a doorbell that has a tiny camera on the front, has night vision, and a microphone so you can speak from the comfort of your sofa.
But the famous doorbell might not have been a success if retired NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t play his part.
According to various sources, Shaq came across the product and ended up liking it so much, that he tracked down the creator and bought a stake in the company for around $200 million.
It’s important to note that prior to this, the creator, Jamie Siminoff founded the company in 2013 under the name ‘Doorbot’, and even went on Shark Tank – a TV series where entrepreneurs go on the show to raise capital for a product of theirs. But he failed to do so.
He then rebranded to Ring. Shaq entered the scene and became the spokesperson for the product. Amazon then bought it in 2018 for approx $1.2-1.8 billion.
Not bad at all.