In the fifth episode of the 14th season of “Lion’s Den” (also on RTL), a company in which rapper Cro (33) has already invested, as well as the oldest founder to date in the VOX show, are looking for investments from the lionesses and lions . But not everyone ultimately receives a contract and the desired financial injection.
It starts with “the blood” from Berlin. The founders Isabelle Guenou (27), Miriam Santer (29) and Lucas Mittelmeier (27) have jointly developed a test kit to take a closer look at menstrual blood without using needles.
The idea for the non-invasive blood test came to the former competitive athlete Guenou because of her own menstrual problems: “After I stopped competitive sports, I suffered from severe pain before and during my menstruation. And I am no exception. In Germany alone there are 14 million women with menstrual pain.”
However, there is “still a huge data gap” in the health system, so most people don’t know exactly where the complaints come from, explains Mittelmeier, a doctor with a doctorate in human medicine. The aim of “the blood” is to find out what goes on in women’s bodies every month. After use, the test kit goes to the laboratory and the results are available via the app.
The lionesses and lions are enthusiastic, but things get tricky when it comes to the numbers behind the product. “What does the laboratory want?” asks Carsten Maschmeyer (64), and finds out that of the 150 euros for four tests per year, 120 euros go to the laboratory alone.
Ralf Dümmel (56) already declared his exit because, in his own opinion, he was “only half the right investor” for the product. Lioness Tijen Onaran (38) is also “unfortunately out”, but thinks the two founders are “great”.
But Maschmeyer and Nils Glagau (47) quickly join forces. They initially offer the founders the desired 200,000 euros for 10 percent of the company shares. However, when certain milestones are reached, another 10 percent of the company goes to the two lions. After a short consultation, the founders agreed, and all five then hugged each other on the VOX stage.
Many people enjoy cereals or muesli on the breakfast table, but the two “Spacies” founders Rouven Kosel (27) and Carsten Hinzer (27) have identified a problem: “Breakfast cereals should actually be on the candy shelf because they contain up to a quarter consist of sugar.”
The healthy breakfast muesli “Spacies” is supposed to help here. The two founders were already able to inspire rap star Cro for their business idea. In addition to an investment, the musician also contributes his own ideas to the company. The lionesses and lions also liked the product, which contains 96 percent less sugar and four times more protein than conventional cereals, during the test breakfast in the studio.
“Super cool brand,” says investor Glagau, but Ralf Dümmel once again insists on the numbers: “What is the planned recommended retail price for retailers?” the lion wants to know. The founders are planning for 5.90 euros, which visibly shocks Dümmel. “Six euros,” he says, whereupon young lion Tillman Schulz (34) adds: “For 240 grams.”
The founders’ profit margin is 38 percent. “That’s not enough, that’s not nearly enough,” Schulz blurts out in view of this number. He wouldn’t get the capital he invested back for a “long time.” That’s why he – just like Maschmeyer – is out.
The other lionesses and lions also look skeptical, which is why in the end Kosel, Hinzer and their investor Cro do not receive the targeted 200,000 euros for eight percent of the company shares. Maybe they can continue to promote “Spacies” around Cro’s appearances and thus find their way to success.
Then a father-son team enters the “Lion’s Den”: Heinrich Schnitzer, at 60, is the junior in the family business, while the sprightly pensioner Albrecht Schnitzer, at 88, is declared the oldest founder in the history of “The Lion’s Den”. becomes. After Albrecht, who has been retired for 27 years, fell off his bike three times in a very short space of time, the otherwise fit pensioner did not suddenly want to give up his mobility and his only real source of exercise.
Without further ado, he had the pedals and chains removed in the bike shop, and the prototype of the “sollso” was born. Now Albrecht was active again and explored his Hamburg neighborhood. Then someone called after him: “Broken or supposed to be?”, and the company name was born. The lionesses and lions also have to laugh heartily at this story.
The further developed balance bike “sollso” impresses with bright colors and an ultra-light weight of just 5.2 kilograms. The lionesses and lions also do a little fun in the VOX studio, but Nils Glagau doesn’t believe that 5,000 bikes will be sold every year. He’s out.
Dagmar Wöhrl (69), however, is worried that the “shall so” could easily be imitated by competitors. “Do you have a patent for it?” the lioness wants to know. The brand name is protected, explains Junior Heinrich, but “you can’t get a patent on a balance bike.”
That doesn’t really convince the lionesses and lions. Wöhrl also sees the rollator as strong competition that should not be underestimated. She says goodbye, as do Dümmel and Janna Ensthaler (39), who does not believe in “exponential growth” of the product.
Father and son have to go home without a deal. Unfortunately, nothing comes of the desired 200,000 euros for 15 percent of the company shares. Pensioner Albrecht rolls out of the “Lion’s Den” on his “sollso”.
The founders Sebastian Kadhim (42) and Kai Stork (27) would like 100,000 euros for 20 percent of the company shares. With their product “TeaBlobs” they have declared war on “tea bags” and created a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative.
“Every year 50 billion cups of tea are drunk in Germany, 76 percent of which are made with a tea bag,” says Kai. “And that even though the tea bag hasn’t been thought through to the end,” says Sebastian. The tea leaves in the bag can be packed up to four times and everything ends up in the trash. “Four rubbish for one tea.” The two founders describe this as “madness”.
Your “TeaBlobs”, on the other hand, are pressed tea tablets – and do not require a sieve or bag. This saves time, packaging waste and shelf space. Simply dissolve a “TeaBlob” in hot water and the tea will be ready in no time.
“I think it tastes really authentic and also natural,” says lioness Janna Ensthaler during the subsequent test, and Ralf Dümmel also raises his thumb in appreciation: “It tastes great, I think it’s delicious.”
But the numbers are less convincing for the lionesses. 6.99 euros should be charged in stores with manufacturing costs of 3.05 euros. “Of course that’s not a very big range,” notes Dagmar Wöhrl. “It’s just too expensive to produce and price,” agrees Janna Ensthaler.
Janna Ensthaler describes the founders, one of whom was unable to be in the studio due to illness, as “just on the threshold, but not quite on the threshold.” That’s why there’s no deal from her. Nils Glagau is also not interested in the “TeaBlobs” at the moment, but he wants to continue to monitor the founders.
Fortunately, the “TeaBlobs” founders don’t have to go home empty-handed. They receive an offer from both Ralf Dümmel and Tillman Schulz. “I think the product is really cool,” says Dümmel. The world was waiting for the founders, and their “TeaBlobs” were “easy to make.” He offers 100,000 euros for 25 percent of the company shares.
Schulz also sees a “huge market” for the “TeaBlobs” and is also offering 100,000 euros for 25 percent of the company shares. Now it’s up to the founders to decide between the two lions with the identical investment offer – and Ralf Dümmel gets the contract in the end. He clenches his fists at the desired message and jumps with a loud “Yes!” up from his chair.
The final product is the “elly
“Cats are very clean animals,” the founders say, “but when they come out of the litter box, they spread cat litter all over the apartment.” The animals can’t actually do anything about it because the litter sticks between their paws. The result: “Litter on the sofa, litter in the bed, no one likes that.”
However, the solution is simple: Through extensive testing and observation, the founders noticed that the four-legged friends lose litter when they spread their paws. This would especially happen when jumping or running stairs. The business idea was born: Cloou – a cat toilet with an integrated litter collection staircase. This ensures that the litter is already lost inside the toilet.
The only problem with the demonstration: The cat they brought with them doesn’t even leave the toilet again, which is why the founders can’t really demonstrate whether the little animal really comes out free of litter.
The lionesses and lions are also not convinced by the selling price of a whopping 199 euros and the size of the toilet. In addition, there are – as Ralf Dümmel calls it – “extremely high tool costs” of 400,000 euros, which the founders had not even included in the aforementioned production costs.
Tillman Schulz calls this a “dramatic mistake” and receives nods of approval from the other lionesses and lions for his statement. Not only is he out, the other investors can also use the “elly
