Five companies are once again hoping for a lion for their idea. But not everything goes down well right away – two startups drop investors like hot potatoes. A real bidding war breaks out for another one.
Things get medieval at the start of the episode. It’s about vegan mead – a novelty indeed, as honey wine is – you guessed it – an animal product. That’s supposed to change with “Vegablum”, although that’s just the brand. The new mead will be called Vet – a swipe at the V trend in vegan foods and the abbreviation for ““. The basis is vegan honey made from dandelions, which the company also sells apart from their drinks. Ten percent of the shares are available for 100,000 euros.
Those with a sweet tooth are initially impressed. The conclusion is that vegan honey tastes like the real thing. During the tasting, the testers also liked the drink. Then, with some amusement, we turn to the numbers: Vegablum currently has an annual turnover of around 300,000 euros. But the vegan mead is worrying investors – if real honey wine is already a niche, where is the vegan alternative? Ralf Dümmel gets out immediately, as do Glagau and Onaran.
Dagmar Wöhrl and Tillman Schulz discuss whether they want to take action. It’s no longer about the Vet, but rather the vegan honey. But: You can’t get two lions for the price of one – 25.1 percent is required for the two. That’s a lot, but it’s a deal.
Not in the mood for tablets
This is followed by a small revolution in brushing your teeth – appropriately after the honey. It’s all about getting the paste out of the tube and making tabs out of it. This makes transport easier and apparently more sustainable. For ten percent of the company called Natch, 375,000 euros are required.
The principle of It’s very simple: you bite it with your teeth and mix the toothpaste yourself with the resulting saliva. When you try it yourself, all the lions succeed right away. The company is then scrutinized. Natch is by no means cheap. 85 tablets cost up to 14.90 euros – and correspond to around 1.2 tubes of conventional toothpaste. A few lions can’t help but laugh. How should you explain this to the end customer?
“The Lion’s Den”
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Janna Ensthaler is the first to sign off. Dümmel too – the price of the product and company is not hot. After it turns out that there are already eight investors in the company, Glagau flees at record speed, cursing, and Wöhrl follows. It remains Schulz to put the lid on it – no deal for Natch.
What will it look like for Animalchat? Because now it’s about a kind of video consultation for veterinarians so that pet owners can stay at home and still get quick help. 200,000 euros for ten percent are due for the messenger.
Animalchat earns money through the placement of doctors who charge patients a price for video consultations via the platform and the subscription fees of the practices. So far the company has two customers – a warning signal for the lions. But one of the founders reassures and can demonstrate a large network of potential customers. The business plan isn’t uninteresting, but Schulz signs off immediately.
Dümmel praises it, but cannot help the project. Out. Glagau and Wöhrl are teaming up and exploring the possibilities. The offer: 200,000 euros for 20 percent. Carsten Maschmeyer remains. And he makes a big fuss: “To build a company, you need vitamin B. I offer you something better: vitamin M. Maschmeyer,” he rumbles. “I am exactly what you are missing.” His One Maschmeyer show isn’t cheap either – he also wants 20 percent for the sum offered.
After a short back and forth, the founders coax another 50,000 euros out of Vitamin M’s ribs and seal the deal. Maschmeyer takes over.
Everyone wants the baking mat, one in particular
Then it becomes simpler. It’s about one . This should make it very easy to bake the food in the oven until it’s really crispy. It’s the showpiece of the show: 40,000 euros for ten percent. The mat starter set for end customers costs 20 euros.
The star tested the product in advance, you can find the text here.
The idea is so simple, the offers are so simple: Ensthaler immediately offers the required sum, Glagau drops out. Wöhrl also offers the deal and tempts with a collaboration with the Fackelmann company. Schulz and Dümmel refuse to be asked – and also unpack what they have to offer. A nice lesson in self-expression.
Mr. Regal can’t let this all go. He offers twice the amount, but also wants twice the shares. Schulz follows suit. The founders withdraw, Dümmel runs after them: “I’m going down to 15 percent, I’m scared now.” Everyone except for Ensthaler goes along with it, it’s all about the person. Old lion Dümmel gets the nod and jumps out of the chair as if he had sat on a needle. A lion in ecstasy.
A unicorn without a horn is just a horse
The finale is an extraordinarily self-confident company consisting of five founders. Scentme sells detergent pods with high-quality perfumes. They also have the luxury claim for their evaluation. It should be 200,000 euros for ten percent – expensive fun. For end customers, 14 pods should cost 11.90 euros, i.e. around 85 cents per wash cycle. That also hurts, especially since the shipping costs for the online-only detergent are still missing from this bill.
“We will be the next billion-dollar company,” assures one of the founders at the opening of the presentation. So so. The lions go sniffing first. People tend to like what’s in the towels.
But the calculation gets hairy. The “billion-dollar company”’s previous turnover is 50,000 euros. The founders have invested two million euros. The customer base consists of 2000 people. Maschmeyer then wonders where the self-confidence comes from. “Your business plan is more like business madness,” he sums up – and signs off.
Wöhrl doesn’t see a future with Scentme either, Glagau also stinks. Dümmel fears that the detergent market is too big – and that you would need a lot of money to place a brand there. He’s out too, Tillman Schulz remains. He also withdraws full of praise. No deal.
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Source: Stern
