Rarely has “The Lion’s Den” been so personal and emotional. In the seventh episode of the VOX show (also on RTL), the founders of “Ichò” come into the cave with prominent support in the form of dog professional Martin Rütter. But the pitch is not about four-legged friends, the inventors have brought an idea with them that is intended to improve the lives of dementia patients. A topic that touches the lionesses Judith Williams and Dagmar Wöhrl emotionally for personal reasons.
Martin Rütter accompanies the inventors of “Ichò” into the cave, because this product is an affair of the heart for him. The reason for this is the painful experience that the dog trainer had with his mother, who was suffering from dementia. With this incurable disease, the brain degrades more and more until the affected person has lost all abilities. When Martin Rütter was shooting a report on this topic, he got to know the founders Eleftherios (35), Steffen (32), Aklje (39) and Mario (31) and their invention. The four of them have dementia in their own family and want to help slow down the progression of the disease with their brightly colored “Ichò” training ball.
The ball is programmed with over 100 different therapy games, can glow, make noises and sounds and vibrate. For example, by turning the ball in one direction, a chord is played, so the patient can make music with “Ichò” or guess animal noises that the ball is playing. The aim is to improve cognitive and fine motor skills. The programs are controlled via a remote control.
For the further development of their product, the inventors need 1.5 million euros for a 15 percent share in their company. To show what effect the ball has on people with dementia, the founders brought a video with very emotional pictures. But this sight was too much for Dagmar Wöhrl, who had to leave the cave in tears after a few minutes. All lions are deeply moved by the topic.
“I first lost my mother to dementia,” explains Dagmar Wöhrl when she returns. Tears also flow with Judith Williams, because her father also suffers from the disease. “How do I know that this will help in any way?” the lioness wants to know. But that is the crux of the matter, because there is no official study on this. In addition, none of the founders come from a medical field and the ball currently has a proud price of 1,428 euros. Reason enough for the lions not to invest, although everyone is convinced that “Ichò” is a valuable product that can be helpful.
