What was ring before it was ring?

Before it was Ring, the company had a completely different name, product vision, and origin story. Ring was originally founded in 2011 by inventor Jamie Siminoff as Doorbot. Doorbot started as a garage project in Los Angeles after Siminoff said he could not hear his doorbell when he was working in his garage. The first Doorbot was a bulky, Wi-Fi-enabled doorbell with a camera that allowed you to see and talk to visitors from your smartphone. In 2013, Siminoff pitched Doorbot on Shark Tank and was famously rejected by all the Sharks, with only Shaquille O'Neal later investing. After Shark Tank, he rebranded Doorbot to Ring in 2014 to better reflect the idea of a ring of security around the entire home, not just a single doorbell. The rebrand also came with a sleeker design, better motion detection, infrared night vision, and the launch of the Ring app and cloud recording. The company then expanded from one doorbell into cameras, alarm systems, and smart lighting. Amazon acquired Ring in February 2018 for over $1.2 billion, keeping the Ring name.