The Gadget That's Better in Crowds Than Your Phone + Ring’s Founder Before Amazon Bought It | E2349
October 12, 2026 · 1 h 20 min
🎙️ Full episode
DEBRIEFWritten and voiced by AI from the episode's audio
This Week in Startups episode 2349 features two segments: an interview with Carter Fowler, founder of Totem Labs, and a flashback to 2017 with Jamie Simonoff, founder of Ring doorbells. Totem has built a screen-free consumer device that uses mesh networking and GPS to help groups of people (at festivals, stadiums, and events) locate each other when cellular networks fail. The compass-shaped device works completely offline, uses GNSS positioning accurate to one meter, and communicates via peer-to-peer 2.4GHz protocol. Unlike phones, Totem's mesh network improves with more users in the area. In the second half, Simonoff recounts Ring's unconventional origin story—building the WiFi doorbell in his garage after struggling to find one—and his philosophy of using a strong mission statement ("make neighborhoods safer") to maintain focus and attract talent. Both segments explore how founders solve real problems through hands-on innovation, the challenges of raising capital for hardware and consumer products, and the tension between bold expansion and mission-driven focus.
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Today’s show:
At packed concerts, festivals, and stadiums, your phone gets WORSE with every person who shows up. Totem gets better.
Carter Fowler of Totem joins Alex to explain how his screen-free compass points you straight to your friends without relying on cell towers. Find out why Carter says Apple will never ship this in an iPhone, and why kids, ski patrols, and blind users have become some of his most loyal fans.
PLUS, Lon and Alex dig into the archives for Jason's 2017 CES interview with Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, a year before Amazon bought the company. Jamie explains how a doorbell he couldn't hear in his garage became Ring, and why a strong mission is "cheating" when it comes to keeping a team focused. Then he tells Jason he wants to take Ring public, not sell it. Ironic because about a year later, Amazon bought it. And get ready for some hot takes on neighborhood license-plate cameras, years before the anti-Flock backlash.
Guests:
Carter Fowler on X: https://x.com/Carter_S_Fowler
Totem: https://totemlabs.com
Jamie Siminoff on X: https://x.com/JamieSiminoff
Ring: https://ring.com
Relevant Links:
Totem Compass, the offline friend-finding compass → https://totemlabs.com
Totem closes its $1.3M pre-seed round (Business Wire) → https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250212385814/en/Totem-Closes-%241.3M-in-Pre-Seed-Funding-to-Scale-Operations-for-Explosive-Demand
Totem's community crowdfunding round → https://wefunder.com/totemlabs
Totem's record Lost Lands deployment last year (Business Wire) → https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251009622355/en
The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen, mentioned by Alex → https://www.amazon.com/dp/1633691780
Original TWiST Interview with Jamie from 2017 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puP_D3k7vVI
Amazon officially closes its Ring acquisition in 2018 (TechCrunch) → https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/12/amazon-officially-owns-ring-so-lets-talk-product-integration/
Ring calls off its Flock Safety partnership after the Super Bowl ad backlash (Engadget) → https://engadget.com/home/ring-calls-off-partnership-with-police-surveillance-provider-flock-safety-031717605.html
Flock Safety plans to cut about 18% of its staff (Reuters via The Star) → https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2026/10/09/exclusive-ai-surveillance-startup-flock-safety-to-cut-several-hundred-jobs-amid-backlash-sources-say
Timestamps:
Totem, an offline compass for finding friends at festivals
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Why phones fail in big crowds
How more devices make the mesh network stronger
Why Totem beats phone GPS in a crowd
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Why Apple won't build this into the iPhone
Raising money for hardware in an AI world
NetSuite: For the first time ever, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, go to https://netsuite.ai/twist
Turning crowd movement into a predictive model
Rentals, kids and accessibility use cases
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