Ring’s journey from Shark Tank fodder to market leader

Home security company Ring is staying true to its nimble start-up roots as it evolves beyond hardware into a video-first brand incorporating artificial intelligence and computer vision.

When the founder of a small doorbell company rejected a modest investment offer on the business reality TV show Shark Tank back in 2013, few realised what a monumental opportunity the Sharks had missed. 

Just over ten years later, and now owned by Amazon, Ring’s innovative home security and smart home devices are in millions of homes around the world, delivering billions of ‘Ring moments’ every month. 

With more than 2000 employees, Ring continues inventing new ways to help its customers stay connected to their homes, children and pets by incorporating the latest artificial intelligence and computer vision developments. 

Mark Fletcher, the managing director of Ring’s Asia-Pacific operations, joined the company in 2016. It was two years before the Amazon acquisition, and Fletcher was allured by the thrill of working for a garage-born start-up. 

Today, watching his kids come home from school gives him an “amazing sense of where we have come from,” he says. 

“The company is all about inventing. The smart home doorbell was just something new and innovative,” Fletcher says. “Seeing someone at the door and being anywhere in the world was just a game changer.” 

From selling hardware to making viral video

Ring’s flagship product is the Ring Video Doorbell, which allows users to monitor their home entryways and interact with visitors remotely through their smart phones. The company also offers indoor and outdoor security cameras, including spotlight and floodlight cameras that can pan and tilt. 

Videos from the company’s cameras have become a social media sensation, with families sharing front-yard antics ranging from funny pet scenes to the more peculiar quirks of clumsy delivery personnel and blundering package thieves. 

The company has updated its mission statement accordingly, from keeping neighbourhoods safe to a new focus on keeping people close to what is important to them – reflecting the changing ways customers use its products. 

Ring’s products integrate easily with other smart home devices and platforms like Amazon Alexa. Ring also incorporates its artificial intelligence and computer vision expertise to enhance the experience further. 

“We are becoming a true video-first brand,” Fletcher says. “We have so much video content today; the question is, how do we make that experience better for our customers?” 

Intelligent content curation

Smart video monitoring can automatically alert customers to things like leaks, break-ins or pet escapes. A new video search function soon to reach Australia will allow users to search their videos for things like ‘man wearing a red hat.’ 

The new Doorbell Pro offers advanced features such as the ability to set “bird’s eye zones”, which fuse radar detection with artificial intelligence for aerial monitoring and more precise motion alerts in a given area. 

“That’s just the start of what the future holds,” Fletcher says. 

A strong focus on privacy and security of information runs through all of Ring’s products, Fletcher says, with customisable privacy settings, privacy zones and end-to-end encryption keeping customers in control. 

“Ring products are all about staying connected with families, homes and communities,” Fletcher says. “We want our customers to keep checking in with their families, loved ones, pets and kids, and we will continue to innovate on this.” 

For more information, visit ring.com