How Shaquille O'Neal turned startup into $1,000,000,000 company after refusing to pay $80,000 for security
I think we're all aware Shaquille O'Neal was pretty good on the basketball court during his heyday, but did you know he's not bad at this business thing either?
The sporting legend, better known as Shaq, won an impressive four NBA championships during his career.
The 52-year-old claimed the ultimate prize three times between 2001 and 2003 with Los Angeles Lakers, while his Miami Heat team came out victorious in 2006.
Away from the court, Shaq has kept busy with other things, including a multi-million-dollar investment that came as a complete surprise.
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The fact it came about over a security issue makes the tale even more unbelievable, but how exactly did the former basketball pro do it?
Making all the money he made back in the day, Shaq had three homes in Atlanta.
And because he was a big name in American sport, Shaq decided some security for his luxurious houses would be required.
For one of them, he was quoted $80,000 - something the basketball player refused to pay for.
Of course, Shaq is and was even back then a very rich man, but despite his millions, he knew the price was a little steep.
Looking for a solution to his security worries, Shaq headed to Best Buy and found a Ring camera.
I mean, we've all heard of them now, with many households having them equipped.
Back then however, Shaq decided to take a plunge on the security kit without the exposure it has nowadays.
"The crazy thing about it is I hooked it up myself," Shaq said during an interview with Earn Your Leisure.
Shaq fell in love with the product, to the point where he made an offer to buy into the company in 2015.
After tracking down company boss Jamie Siminoff at the consumer electronic show, Shaq pitched his vision.
"I said, ‘Hey, my name is Shaquille O'Neal. I want to invest in your company, and you're going to pay me to do commercials, and then whatever happens happens," Shaq recalled in the podcast.
Shaq struck a deal with the CEO just a few weeks later, investing a whopping $1 million into Ring for a stake.
Ring went from strength to strength after Shaq invested heavily in the company.
Richard Branson invested $28 million in the company in 2015 before being bought by Jeff Bezos a few years later at an eye-watering price of $1 billion.
You can bet Shaq is glad he didn't shell out $80,000 for security now.
Topics: Basketball, Business, Technology
Callum Jones