Anyone who goes to “The Lion’s Den” with their start-up always has to fight twice. The first thing is to get the investors on the show excited about a deal. But then the contracts have to actually be signed away from the TV cameras. The founder of Biotherma-Pad, Friederike Freifrau von Rodde, jumped the first hurdle, but failed at the second. Your lion deal fell through after the show.
The 38-year-old even impressed two investors with her appearance on the show. Both Nils Glagau and Tillman Schulz wanted to invest in their child-friendly cooling pads and the associated “Trösti” cases. The gel pads, whose brand name was changed to Biothermare after the broadcast, are made from seaweed instead of the usual chemicals. They can cool small children’s injuries or provide warmth if necessary.
Glagau and Schulz each wanted to get involved as an investor and since the founder could not decide between the offers, those involved ultimately agreed on a joint deal for 60,000 euros. “Friederike convinced Tillman and me with her pitch and of course the cooling pads with seaweed filling. I was totally impressed by her entrepreneurial spirit and optimism as well as her manner,” explains Glagau.
The problem is that at the time of the appearance, the product was neither fully developed nor patented. Therefore, the lions ultimately pulled out of the deal, as they confirmed to stern in a joint statement. After the recording, the two investors and the founder entered into a close exchange, says Glagau. “We haven’t found a common way forward.” And Schulz adds: “Despite our belief in Friederike and her innovative idea, it was unfortunately impossible for us to implement the deal at this stage due to time constraints.”
The founder now wants to launch her children’s cooling pads without Lion support. The trademark and the patent have been registered, said von Rodde when asked. “The online shop is up and running, the products are ready.” She is currently accepting pre-orders and the products should be delivered after about ten days, the founder promises.
A second deal, which was also seen in the current “Lion’s Den” episode, is currently still in the balance. The job exchange platform JobSwop.io was able to win over dream investor Carsten Maschmeyer on the show. The only disagreement was about the conditions. The founders asked for 180,000 euros for 10 percent of their company, Maschmeyer initially wanted 25 percent. In the broadcast, the parties agreed on 20 percent, but negotiations are still going on behind the scenes. We are “in very constructive and trusting discussions and we hope to be able to announce a result soon,” explained Maschmeyer when asked.
At least: The third deal of the evening is in the clear. Lioness Tijen Onaran confirmed that her investment in the bread baking start-up Loggä came about. Loggä founder Matthias Parzich is actually the wrong gender for the investor who specializes in female founders. Parzich is “actually the first male solo founder” in whom she is investing, Onaran tells stern. “I was inspired by his story from engineer to bread developer and also by the fact that he is self-made. He is building the company with his family – that’s nice to support,” says Onaran. “He’s a doer, it’s a good product and that’s why I’m invested.”
