Nigeria Wants to Tax Its Digital Workers — But Offers Them Nothing in Return

The quiet rise of Africa’s Digital Middle Class — and why Nigeria’s 2026 tax reform misses the moment

Every morning at 6 a.m., as the hum of generators fills the Lekki air, Chioma logs into Upwork from her one-bedroom flat. She’s a content strategist for three American SaaS companies, earning about $2,200 a month — more than most Nigerian workers. Her workday begins only after she switches to backup power and connects her Starlink router — a $600 investment she guards like gold. When the inverter fails, she packs up for a co-working space in Lekki — ₦5,000 for the day. When the Wi-Fi drops, she tethers her mobile data and watches her budget drain. Every outage costs her both money and momentum, but quitting isn’t an option.

Chioma represents a new kind of Nigerian professional: one who earns globally but survives locally. She pays for her own electricity, internet, health care, and security — the very things government systems should provide. Her success depends not on public support but on private resilience.

Across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, a new Digital Middle Class (DMC) has quietly taken shape — remote developers, content creators, designers, and freelancers who earn in dollars through global platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and others. They are globally integrated but locally invisible, unrecognized in GDP, labor law, or social protection systems. Their rise confirms a historic shift: Africa’s new labor export is digital, not physical.

When Nigeria announced its 2026 tax reform — requiring freelancers, creators, and remote workers to register, file their own taxes, and pay under a new progressive structure with rates going up to about 20–25% — it seemed like progress. At last, governments were acknowledging an invisible but rapidly growing segment of the workforce. But for many earning online, this visibility may bring vulnerability before protection.

Defining the Digital Middle Class

This class represents the first generation of Africans able to participate directly in global digital labor markets. They work remotely for clients across the US, Europe, and Asia, receive payments through fintechs or stablecoins, and contribute to a parallel economy that operates beyond borders.

I got an international remote job with zero experience,” said a young Nigerian developer on X. “They paid over ₦1 million a month to learn, and even covered $1,000 for my training. Now I’m killing it and earning more.

Recent data validates their growing influence:

• Sub-Saharan Africa’s digital gig activity rose 130% between 2016 and 2020, the fastest in the world, while North America grew just 14%.
• The implications are immense: dollar-paying jobs in economies where the average graduate earns less than $300 a month. Global clients are increasingly pulling top African talent out of local markets, deepening inequality but also forcing a skills revolution.
• High youth unemployment pushes more young Africans online, and each success story drives the next generation to learn digital skills.

A Hidden Economic Engine

This digital migration is reshaping local economies. The drivers are clear: job scarcity, cheap mobile data, and expanding connectivity. Over 416 million Africans now use mobile internet, yet 64% remain offline due to high costs, unreliable power, and unaffordable devices.

• Despite these challenges, the DMC’s dollar inflows act as a quiet stabilizer for fragile currencies. Their earnings are untracked in official remittance or export data, yet the impact is comparable to diaspora remittances. A remote worker earning $1,500 a month can sustain dependents, inject hard currency into circulation, and power small urban economies — even though this activity never appears in GDP reports or labor statistics.
• Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa account for roughly 80.6% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s internet traffic directed toward online gig platforms.
• While 42.9% earn between $1,000 and $2,000 monthly, another 14.3% earn over $3,000 — placing them firmly in the upper middle class by local standards and making them prime targets for aggressive taxation.

But their economic impact is invisible. Because their income flows through P2P crypto, Payoneer, or foreign platforms, it rarely touches formal banking rails. Governments miss the data — and the opportunity to build systems around this growing group.

The African Development Bank has launched a program (MADE Alliance: Africa) aiming to provide digital access to 100 million individuals and businesses by 2034, while industry estimates project Africa’s digital economy could reach $180 billion by 2025.

Still, the “invisibility paradox” remains, their contributions are absent from fiscal planning or credit systems.

And yet, behind this invisible economy is an equally invisible challenge — how to save, earn, and grow wealth in systems that were never designed for digital labor. But the more profound shift isn’t financial; it’s psychological.

The Psychological and Cultural Shift

Beyond economics, there’s a profound psychological transformation. For the first time, a generation of Africans is competing — and winning — on merit in a global labor market.

• Dollar income changes identity: from survival to self-determination.

“From a noisy street in Kaduna to a quiet hotel in Abuja… from a social event in Lagos to the beach on an island — that’s the beauty and privilege of being able to work from anywhere,” wrote Ochai Emmanuel, a Nigerian creative who documents his remote journey online. “It’s not always comfortable. But it’s freedom.”

• Remote work has reframed ambition. It legitimized creative labor, dissolved old stigmas around freelancing, and placed African talent at the center of global digital production.

Yet the costs are real: extreme monitoring by foreign clients, algorithmic pressure, and burnout without any safety net.

• Many fund their own equipment, power backups, and healthcare.
• A single platform ban can erase years of income history and professional credibility overnight.

This is the double edge of Africa’s digital awakening — independence without infrastructure.

But this psychological liberation is fragile. And Nigeria’s new tax policy threatens to turn autonomy into anxiety.

The Policy Blindspot

A Tax System Built Backward
Nigeria’s 2025/2026 Tax Act prioritizes short-term revenue extraction over long-term ecosystem stability and talent retention.

The result: a policy that discourages productivity instead of rewarding it.
In its current form, the government risks pushing its most capable digital workers offshore — or deeper into the shadows.

It’s a paradox: a policy that penalizes the very success it claims to formalize.

An Outdated Definition of the Middle Class
Most African governments still define “middle class” through 20th-century lenses — salaried workers in banks, oil firms, or the civil service.

That excludes the new earners powering digital economies in dollars, euros, and pounds.
Kenya’s last major labor law update was in 2007 — before remote work even existed.
Nigeria’s tax reform arrives decades late and risks repeating the same mistake: starting with extraction instead of inclusion.

Voices from the Digital Frontline

“I’ve worked remotely for about half of my life,” says Osaretin Victor Asemota, a Nigerian tech entrepreneur.
“The question of taxing remote workers makes me laugh. What are you providing to me as a government?”

His argument is pragmatic: “You can tax my consumption but not my income. If my clients want to withhold tax at source and remit it directly, that’s fine — that’s a clean, transparent system.”

Asemota also exposes the enforcement gap:

“Governments are used to raiding offices and auditing physical spaces. Digital workers have neither. That makes them nervous.”

He adds, almost wryly:

“Some can’t even do property taxes well.”

Crypto Makes Enforcement Impossible

The rise of digital currencies deepens the challenge.

“Digital nomads will be the hardest demographic to tax as crypto goes mainstream,” Asemota says. “If all my savings are in USDC wallets, outside government reach, enforcement becomes nearly impossible.”

A Constructive Path Forward

Instead of extraction, Asemota argues for incentives:

“Encourage savings for pensions. That’s the number one issue remote workers face. They need a guaranteed future — not harassment.”

He notes emerging solutions — startups building portable pensions and freelancer insurance.

“Sensible governments should be courting them, not chasing away the workers they serve.”

But Nigeria, for now, is doing the opposite — starting with extraction instead of infrastructure. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Under the New Nigeria Tax Act 2025

The National Revenue Service (NRS) replaces the FIRS and introduces a digital-first system for registration and tax filing. It covers residents’ worldwide income — meaning freelancers and remote workers must now declare foreign earnings in naira at the official Central Bank rate and pay under new progressive bands that reach up to 25%.

For a Nigerian freelancer earning about $1,500 a month, the policy translates to nearly ₦5 million in annual taxes — roughly 18% of income — with no pension, health insurance, or safety net in return.

(Assumptions: ₦1,488/$ official rate, rent relief capped at ₦500,000 or 20%, progressive rates 0–25%; Sources: PwC Nigeria Tax Update 2025, EY Nigeria Brief 2025.)

For most digital workers, the issue isn’t just the rate — it’s the process. Registering, converting earnings at the official rate, and navigating compliance add friction to already fragile systems.

The reform could have been a bridge between informal digital work and formal recognition. Instead, it feels like a toll gate built halfway across the bridge.

For foreign employers, the stakes are high too. Under the new rules, companies hiring Nigerians remotely could face local tax exposure if contractors earn above ₦25 million or stay in-country long enough to trigger residency thresholds.

Building the Infrastructure for the Digital Middle

If governments truly want to harness this class rather than overtax it, they must build systems that match the realities of global digital labor. Africa’s digital earners need infrastructure that makes talent visible, connected, and bankable.

It starts with skills. Africa needs bootcamps and university programs designed for remote work, not just local employment. Think of India’s export-ready model: practical, globally benchmarked, and outcome-driven. The same shift — from degrees to demonstrable skills — can position African workers for global demand.

But skills alone don’t build security. To truly anchor this new middle class, governments and fintechs must create the financial rails that make stability possible — access to credit based on verified earnings, portable pensions that travel with the worker, and micro-insurance that cushions income shocks. Without these, digital work remains freedom without a safety net.

Infrastructure also means access — reliable internet, affordable power, and professional spaces where remote workers can thrive without spending half their income keeping the lights on. A Lagos designer shouldn’t need to run a mini-power plant to stay employed.

Finally, it means trust — not just in systems, but in people.
For many African professionals, credibility isn’t questioned because of ability, but because of origin. A Nigerian senior software engineer recently lost a signed CTO offer worth over $260,000 after the company’s compliance review flagged his nationality. The decision wasn’t about competence — it came from a government regulation that prohibited hiring Nigerians. His passport, not his performance, ended the contract.

Other workers face a quieter but equally damaging bias: job postings that quietly exclude Nigerians, algorithms that flag their accounts as “high-risk,” or assumptions that poor connectivity means poor reliability. The result is a double barrier — systemic restrictions on one side, perception gaps on the other.

Infrastructure must solve both. Africa needs credibility systems that prove trustworthiness beyond geography — verified work histories, consistent identity standards, and connectivity that’s fast and affordable enough to erase the stereotype of unreliability. True inclusion means making digital credibility as universal as digital opportunity — so that skill, not nationality, determines who gets hired.

This is the social contract rebuilt for a digital age — one where governments don’t just collect from their most productive citizens, but invest in them. Without it, Africa will keep exporting talent and importing frustration.

The Larger Transformation

The Digital Middle Class (DMC) represents more than income — it’s a shift in how Africans engage with globalization. Instead of exporting raw materials, they now export knowledge and creativity. They’ve built parallel economies across borders, currencies, and cultures.

“I don’t know how to explain how much I love working for American clients from home in Nigeria,” wrote another remote worker on X. “The time zone makes it easy, and the pay is even better.”

Nigeria’s tax debate isn’t really about compliance; it’s about recognition — of a class that has quietly built resilience without state help. Africa’s digital century depends on whether governments choose to exploit or empower them.

The success of the Digital Middle Class is not anecdotal — it’s structural, scalable, and, if formalized correctly, could anchor Africa’s next major economic transformation.

Africa’s digital century will hinge on whether formalization empowers its creators — or erases their hard-won autonomy.

Sources and Data

Economic and Labor Market Data

• World Bank, Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs (2023) — Platform activity concentration data
  👉 https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstreams/c0e33fc7-72e1-4b23-ac2c-b00d4113142c/download
• World Bank Voices, The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work in Developing Countries (2021) — 130% growth in Sub-Saharan gig economy (2016–2020)
  👉 https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/promise-and-peril-online-gig-work-developing-countries
• WeeTracker, Africa Remote Work Salary Report 2025 — Income distribution data
  👉 https://weetracker.com/2025/09/23/africa-remote-work-salaries-ai-job-replacement/
• GSMA Mobile Economy: Africa 2024 — Mobile internet user data
  👉 https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-economy/africa/
• African Development Bank, World Bank Group Joins MADE Alliance: Africa (2024)
  👉 https://afdb.africa-newsroom.com/press-releases/world-bank-group-joins-african-development-bank-group-and-mastercard-as-cochair-of-mobilizing-access-to-the-digital-economy-made-alliance-africa
• Africa24TV / Industry Estimates — Africa’s digital economy projections
  👉 https://africa24tv.com/africa-agenda-2063-digital-potential-of-usd-180-billion

Tax Policy and Financial Analysis

• PwC Nigeria, Tax Update 2025: Nigeria Tax Act Highlights
• EY Nigeria, Brief on the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025
• Nigeria Tax Office, Legal Authority to Tax Foreign Digital Suppliers (2024)
  👉 https://www.nto.tax/sites/default/files/resources/Day%203%2C%20Plenary%208%20-%20Legal%20authority%20to%20tax%20foreign%20digital%20suppliers%20and%20enforcement%20powers.pdf
• Mercans, Nigeria: Changes to Personal Income Tax (2025)
  👉 https://mercans.com/resources/statutory-alerts/nigeria-changes-to-personal-income-tax-september-2025/
• Raenest, What Nigeria’s New Tax Law Means for Freelancers and Remote Workers
  👉 https://www.raenest.com/blog/what-nigerias-new-tax-law-meansfor-freelancers-and-remote-workers

Cryptocurrency and Fintech Data

• Daba Finance, Yellow Card Transaction Volume (2024)
  👉 https://www.dabafinance.com/en/news/africa-stablecoins-crypto-payments-yellow-card-circle-visa
• CoinGeek, Stablecoins Make Up 43% of Africa Crypto Transactions in 2024
  👉 https://coingeek.com/stablecoins-make-up-43-percent-of-africa-crypto-transactions-in-2024/

Quotes and Testimonies

• Osaretin Victor Asemota (X: @asemota) — Remote work taxation commentary
• Ochai Emmanuel (X) — Remote work lifestyle documentation
• Anonymous Nigerian developers and remote workers (via X and direct interviews)

Note: Exchange rates and tax calculations based on official CBN rates at the time of publication. All URLs verified as of [submission date]

Nigeria Wants to Tax Its Digital Workers — But Offers Them Nothing in Return was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Interview transcript

Terry Gerton I want to start with a big picture question because the last few months of downsizing in the federal workforce and the ramifications that has had on contractor workforces have really had a significant impact on military veterans and military spouses. Can you help us understand why those groups are so vulnerable in those particular sectors to downsizing.

Dan Clare Absolutely. I mean, veterans comprise a large percentage of the federal workforce. There is some preference given to disabled veterans, veterans who have certain decorations from their service if they’ve been on campaigns and things like that. And there are federal set-asides as well for government contractors. There’s a lot of disabled veterans, particularly, who are working for the federal government. And those folks, some of them faced a fork in the road — some of them have been furloughed for a long period of time, some of them are looking for different career opportunities now that the government doesn’t seem maybe as steady as it used to be. So we’re hearing from a lot of veterans who [are] just looking at other opportunities, basically. And some of them have been without work for a good while. So we are helping them out. And then on the contracting side, both as employees and as business owners, veterans are disproportionately affected by interruptions in contracts, by government shutdowns, all those sorts of things.

Terry Gerton And the federal government had a special hiring authority for military spouses, correct?

Dan Clare It’s a great question because military spouses are always disadvantaged, they’re always sacrificing for our country alongside their loved one, whether that be a man or woman. And those folks, the portability of their careers is very important to them. So for them, having opportunities in employment, having opportunities to have a business that they can take with them as they go along their journey, those are both very important things for them.

Terry Gerton How is DAV engaged in the veteran employment space? That might not be the first place that folks would expect the Disabled American Veterans Group to be involved.

Dan Clare You would think, but you know going back a hundred years — DAV has been around for a long time — that was one of the original issues that we faced from World War I veterans coming home. Veterans who are changed as a result of their service — they’re at a disadvantage sometimes when they’re looking for jobs, so … we’ve always advocated for employment opportunities, program services for veterans, but this is a chance for us to connect veterans directly with employers who want to hire them, who recognize the unique skills and talents that they bring. So we’re so proud as an organization to be able to partner with these employers who recognize that value and they’re making it a serious effort to hire and retain veterans.

Terry Gerton What are some of the lessons you’re learning through that involvement about today’s employment market? What are big opportunities? What are employers looking for and how do veterans fit in?

Dan Clare Well, I think one of the things we tell veterans frequently is that you’re in military service and you might have a job specialty or an occupational specialty that doesn’t seem like it translates particularly well to civilian life. Some do. You know, if you’re a firefighter in the military, being a firefighter or a crash rescue guy on the civilian side lines up pretty nice. But we find that there are a lot of soft skills and real talent and job experiences that veterans have that help them out a lot. So we’re talking to all industries right now when we’re talking about our employers. And there are so many different positions that they offer and so many different talents that veterans bring. I mean, people think about maintenance, aircraft maintenance, they think about logistics, but there’s great management opportunities. There’s people who’ve worked with budgets in an operational environment. There’s all kinds of different reasons why veterans are uniquely suited to be resilient as job searchers.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Dan Clare. He’s chief communications and outreach officer at the Disabled American Veterans. Dan, DAV is hosting a nationwide virtual job fair next week. Tell us about that.

Dan Clare It’s a virtual career fair. These are awesome events. You’re going to find some great opportunities there. We have AT&T, Department of Energy, Wells Fargo, Border Patrol, Discount Tire. Those are some of the top level companies who we think of, you know, they have names that are pretty recognizable to most of us, but there are a lot of other employers who are gonna be there. And as a veteran or spouse who is looking for a job, you might think, well, I’m not gonna work in the waste management industry because I’m disabled and for me, hiking trash cans isn’t gonna be a career for me. But you have to recognize that all of those companies have different opportunities and different positions within them that might be a perfect fit for a veteran’s experiences so far.

Terry Gerton What helpful hints would you have for veterans and military spouses who are interested in participating? How can they best prepare?

Dan Clare Well, I mean, having a good resume is very important. If you’re going in advance and looking at the job fair, there’s a page there. You can look at the types of positions that are out there and kind of earmark some opportunities specifically. And if you can, you can then tailor a resume a little bit more towards what the requirements are of that position. So those are important things. Veterans know how to dress nice, fortunately. So we have that going for us. You should look great going into it. And then developing a little bit of a pitch for yourself, an elevator pitch, where you say, this is who I am, this is what I’m about professionally, this is the kind of opportunity that I’m looking for, and this is what I hope to do through that opportunity for the company I work for … That’s some of the advice that we’re giving veterans to prepare.

Terry Gerton And not every veteran wants to work for someone else. Many of them want to start their own business. And DAV has a program, the Patriot Boot Camp, to help veterans understand how to start a business. Tell us about that.

Dan Clare It’s an incredible program. It’s cohort based, it’s two and a half days of very intensive training … you’re going be able to talk and interact with people about funding, which is one of the biggest, biggest shortfalls for veterans as entrepreneurs. We’re gonna talk about team building, sales, marketing, branding, and you’re gonna get mentorship. You’re going to get about four hours of mentorship with CEO-level professionals who can help you and they’re driven because they wanna help you avoid making the mistakes that they might have made earlier in their careers. And these people will fly across the country to be there with us. Our next event is Feb. 11 through 13 in Myrtle Beach. And I encourage people to travel for these events because sometimes as an entrepreneur, when you’re closer to home, it’s impossible to avoid some of the details and things that you need to work on for your venture. So Feb. 11th through 13, this is a free opportunity. And we want to get as many veteran entrepreneurs and spouses involved as possible.

Terry Gerton Do you give folks a real taste of the challenges of entrepreneurship? I mean, it’s not the easiest way to move forward.

Dan Clare No, it’s extremely risky. By definition, being an entrepreneur is being a risk-taker, and we recognize that. And we recognize, too, not all these ventures are going to succeed. But the veterans having the experience, getting involved — we find they’re naturally resilient, they’re creative. They’re good at strategy, good at planning. There are just some areas every veteran entrepreneur seems to have where they’re an A+ across the board. And then when it comes to marketing or sales, maybe they’re a D-. So we can address that there. And also they walk away with the community. Each cohort is its own network. And that includes all of the mentors who participate. So we’re really excited. What this does to transform a veteran’s life and make them someone who hires people is extremely exciting for us. And we’re always looking for mentors, always looking for veterans who want to get involved. And it’s extremely meaningful to be involved with.

Terry Gerton What message do you have for employers or business leaders who want to get involved from the hiring side in these activities?

Dan Clare I mean, it’s accessible to you too. Hiring veterans, the people who come to these career fairs, we have them there all the time. Tons of veterans coming through all the times. They tell us that the value is there. The reason why they’re there isn’t — I mean yes, they wanna do the right thing, they’re patriotic, they believe it’s right thing for America to hire veterans — but they’re also making a good deal. They’re finding people who are already trained or trainable. They’re finding people who are disciplined, who show up on time. They find people who’re great team workers and abnormally loyal to companies and institutions that they get involved with. I mean, it makes good business sense for you to hire veterans. If you visit our website, jobs.dav.org, we have an employer resource there where you can kind of validate that decision or make that decision if you want. We have a recognition program called the Patriot Employers Program. That you can access where we’re actually going to help you recruit because you’re going to be able to show veterans with a digital seal that it’s something that you’re focused on. So there are a lot of great ways to get involved. Hiring veterans is good for you and it’s good for our country.

Terry Gerton For veterans and military spouses who might be interested in participating either in the job fair or in the Patriot Boot Camp, where do they go to find out more?

Dan Clare You can find more at jobs.dav.org. There’s all kinds of stuff on there, so check it out. You can hear about success stories, hear about things that are working for other folks, and just visit us … Nov. 25, that virtual career fair could change someone’s life, so we wanna get as many people involved as possible.

The post Two big opportunities are on the horizon for veterans: one to land a job, another to launch a business first appeared on Federal News Network.

Editor’s Note: GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook created this column by recording themselves discussing the topic, asking AI to draft a piece based on their conversation, and then reviewing and editing the copy before publishing. Listen to the raw audio below.

If we look out GeekWire’s office window right now, down at Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail, we can practically guarantee one thing: if we wait 5 minutes, at least one Rad Power Bike will zip past. Probably more. They are ubiquitous — the “Tesla of e-bikes” that seemed to redefine urban transport during the pandemic.

But that physical prominence masks a brutal business reality. 

In the last few weeks, the Seattle tech scene has been rocked by two stories that feel like different verses of the same sad song, as documented by GeekWire reporter Kurt Schlosser. First, Glowforge — the maker of high-end 3D laser printers — went into receivership and was restructured. Then came the news that Rad Power Bikes might be forced to close entirely.

We’ve each covered the Seattle region’s tech ecosystem for around 25 years, and if there is one enduring truth in the Pacific Northwest, it is that hardware is not only hard, as the old saying goes, but for some reason it seems harder here.

It is naturally harder to manipulate atoms than digits. If Windows has a bug, Microsoft pushes an update. If a Rad Power Bike has a busted tire or a faulty component, you can’t fix it with a line of code. You need a supply chain, a mechanic, and a physical presence.

But the struggles of Rad and Glowforge go beyond the physical manufacturing challenges. They are victims of two specific traps: the quirks of the pandemic and the curse of too much capital.

The COVID mirage 

Both companies were born before the pandemic, but they boomed during it. When the world locked down, the thesis for both companies looked invincible. We were all sitting at home in our PJs, desperate for a hobby — so why not buy a Glowforge and laser-print trinkets? We were wary of public transit and looking for recreation — so why not buy an e-bike?

Many tech companies, including giants like Amazon and Zoom, bet big that these behavioral changes were permanent. They weren’t. And we are seeing some of the indigestion of that period play out with massive layoffs at tech companies that got too big, too fast during the pandemic years.  

The world went back to normal, or at least found a new normal, but in the meantime these companies had scaled for a reality that no longer exists.

The VC curse

Then there is the money. In 2021, Rad Power Bikes raised over $300 million.

When you raise that kind of cash, you are no longer allowed to be a nice, profitable niche business. You have to be a platform. You have to be a world-changer. Rad tried to build a massive ecosystem, including direct-to-consumer retail stores and mobile service vans to fix bikes in people’s driveways.

Building a physical service network is agonizingly expensive. Had they raised less and stayed focused on being a great bike maker, we might be having a different conversation. But venture capital demands a “Tesla-sized” outcome, and that pressure can crush a consumer hardware company.

The ghosts of Seattle hardware 

History tells us we shouldn’t be surprised. Seattle has a painful relationship with consumer hardware. We’ve got one word for you: Zune. Or how about the Fire Phone? Or Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker that crashed and burned.

For those with long memories, the current situation rhymes with the saga of Terabeam in the early 2000s. They raised over $500 million to beam internet data through the air using lasers. It was a B2B play, not consumer, but the pattern was identical: massive hype, massive capital, and a technology that was difficult to deploy in the real world. They eventually sold for a fraction of what they raised.

We still love seeing those bikes on the Burke-Gilman. But in this economy, with inflation squeezing discretionary spending, $1,500 e-bikes and $4,000 laser printers are a tough sell.

Seattle may be the cloud capital of the world, but when it comes to consumer hardware, we’re still learning that you can’t just download a profit margin.

Thoughts on this story-writing approach? Email: todd@geekwire.com and john@geekwire.com.

What’s it like to pitch your dream on Shark Tank, get rejected on national TV in front of 8 million people — and then turn that failure into a company Amazon later buys for more than $1 billion? Ring founder Jamie Siminoff did just that.

A serial inventor and entrepreneur, Siminoff joins us on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast to talk about his new book, Ding Dong: How Ring Went from Shark Tank Reject to Everyone’s Front Door (out Nov. 10), sharing the messy, high-stakes, and ultimately inspiring story behind the company.

Now back at Amazon as a vice president leading Ring and the company’s home-security businesses, Siminoff reflects on failure, reinvention, and what comes next in the age of AI.

Listen below, subscribe on Apple or Spotify, and keep reading for highlights.

What he learned writing the book: The book was almost therapeutic — just going back and looking at this stuff. … My best traits, my most powerful traits, the things that make me successful, are also the worst ones.

The importance of having a bigger mission: At Ring, if we had failed, I could still sit here today and say “We tried to make neighborhoods safer.” At least we were successful at trying something. And so that’s where I think mission is just so powerful.

Establishing a company culture with a strong point of view: A real culture is something that not everyone feels matches them … Two things can coexist at the same time: You can have a ton of empathy and care about people and also be a hard-charger.

The inventor’s mindset: Invention is not just product. Invention’s everything. It’s the process. And I think you can invent everywhere. … If you boil down what an inventor is, anything I see that’s broken, I’m fixing it. I can’t help myself.

Returning to Amazon: The thing that you get from leaving and coming back is the clarity of everything. I got to really see clearly everything we did, what we did wrong, what we did right. And so coming back, I feel like I have a newfound clarity for the business.

The impact of AI: What’s crazy now is with AI, all those timelines are collapsing on themselves. In the next 12 months, I can’t even imagine what we’re going to be able to accomplish. … AI understands more like a human, [which] allows you to do things that are just completely different and more efficient.

Related links and stories

• Pre-order the book on Amazon.
• GeekWire: Ring founder Jamie Siminoff rejoins Amazon in new VP role
• Business Insider: Amazon VP says his division is hiring and promoting based on employees’ AI usage
• Inc.: The tech founder who wants to fix small-town America

Subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Jamie Siminoff has lived the American Dream in many ways — recovering from an unsuccessful appearance on Shark Tank to ultimately sell smart doorbell company Ring to Amazon for a reported $1 billion in 2018.

But as with most entrepreneurial journeys, the reality was far less glamorous. Siminoff promises to tell the unvarnished story in his debut book, Ding Dong: How Ring Went From Shark Tank Reject to Everyone’s Front Door, due out Nov. 10.

“I never set out to write a book, but after a decade of chaos, failure, wins, and everything in between, I realized this is a story worth telling,” Siminoff said in the announcement, describing Ding Dong as the “raw, true story” of building Ring, including nearly running out of money multiple times.

He added, “My hope is that it gives anyone out there chasing something big a little more fuel to keep going. Because sometimes being ‘too dumb to fail’ is exactly what gets you through.”

Siminoff rejoined the Seattle tech giant earlier this year after stepping away in 2023. He’s now vice president of product, overseeing the company’s home security camera business and related devices including Ring, Blink, Amazon Key, and Amazon Sidewalk.

Preorders for the book are now open on Amazon.