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The Gadget That's Better in Crowds Than Your Phone + Ring’s Founder Before Amazon Bought It | E2349

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Oct 12, 2026

Guest

Carter Fowler

Carter Fowler, founder of Totem Labs, unveils a screen-free compass that finds friends through offline mesh networking, even as crowds overwhelm phones. They explore accessibility, child safety, crowd-flow data, and satellite-free communication. Plus, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff recounts turning a silent garage doorbell into a company, the power of mission-driven teams, and his pre-Amazon plans to go public.

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insights

INSIGHT

The Technology Behind Totem’s Crowd Accuracy

Totem combines precise GNSS, real-time peer communication, and relays to locate people when phones lose connectivity and accuracy.
At Lost Lands, 5,000 devices carried 330,000 messages across 1.5 kilometers without towers.

insights

INSIGHT

Why Phones Perform Worse Than Totem In Crowds

Phones blend GPS with tower and device signals, creating drift when connectivity fails; Totem focuses on precise GNSS and offline relays.
Carter argues incumbents avoid decentralized features that could undermine carrier relationships and their connectivity-centered business models.

insights

INSIGHT

Why Hardware Data Is Becoming A Startup Moat

Hardware founders faced investors demanding SaaS or AI, but proprietary physical-network data is becoming attractive as software becomes easier to replicate.
Totem raised $1.3 million pre-seed and $1.6 million from customers, reaching 58% gross margins.

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Totem’s Screen-Free Friend-Finding Compass

01:38 • 3min

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Why Crowds Break Conventional Connectivity

04:17 • 5min

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GNSS Precision Behind Totem’s Directional Guidance

Why Phones Drift While Totem Stays Accurate

12:30 • 2min

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Totem’s Hardware Economics and Ownership Philosophy

14:50 • 3min

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Hardware Fundraising in an AI-Dominated Market

Predicting Crowd Movement Before Events Begin

23:08 • 3min

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Screen-Free Connection for Families and Communities

Accessibility, Satellite Independence, and Defense Uses

34:12 • 4min

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Ring Founder Jamie Siminoff’s Early Startup Lessons

38:01 • 11min

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How a Garage Doorbell Became Ring

48:40 • 5min

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Why Founders Should Bet on Friends

54:05 • 9min

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A Strong Mission Prevents Startup Distraction

01:02:39 • 6min

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Ring’s Pre-Amazon Ambition to Go Public

01:08:10 • 5min

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License-Plate Cameras and the Limits of Safety Missions

• Mentioned in 289 episodes

The Innovator's Dilemma

When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Clayton M. Christensen

In this influential business book, Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can lose market leadership when they fail to adapt to disruptive innovations. Christensen explains why companies often miss new waves of innovation and provides a set of rules for capitalizing on disruptive technologies. The book uses examples from various industries, including the disk drive, mechanical excavator, steel, and computer industries, to illustrate trends that lead to success or failure in the face of disruptive technologies.

This Week In Startups is made possible by:

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The Conservation Fund: https://conservationfund.org

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:

00:00:00 Totem, an offline compass for finding friends at festivals

00:00:31 Plaud: If your work depends on conversations - interviews, meetings, calls - you need a Plaud NotePin S. You can check it out at https://Plaud.ai/twist and use code TWIST for 10% off!

00:04:27 Why phones fail in big crowds

00:06:42 How more devices make the mesh network stronger

00:09:07 Why Totem beats phone GPS in a crowd

00:11:40 Got a new business idea? Northwest Registered Agent helps you bring it to life. Get a free domain, email, phone number, and more - with no purchase required! - Learn more at https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twistdomain

00:13:34 Why Apple won't build this into the iPhone

00:18:10 Raising money for hardware in an AI world

00:22:10 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

00:23:08 Turning crowd movement into a predictive model

00:28:04 Rentals, kids and accessibility use cases

00:32:22 The Conservation Fund: Find out more about how The Conservation Fund is protecting land, wildlife, and our shared access to the great outdoors while also providing economic opportunities. Visit https://conservationfund.org.

00:35:47 Mesh networks on the front lines in Ukraine

00:38:01 Flashback to Jason and Ring's Jamie Siminoff at CES 2017

00:41:44 Roasting Jamie's earlier startups

00:48:26 How a doorbell in the garage became Ring

00:53:34 Why you should always bet on your friends

01:02:21 Why a strong mission is cheating

01:07:45 Selling to Amazon versus going public

01:12:09 License plate readers and the Flock backlash

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