Cat treats, rental toys and rockers for the office: the offerings in “The Lion’s Den” vary between absurd and crazy. Only Ralf Dümmel thinks everything is great.
Why not feed a pig together? So there are three lions standing in the studio, bending down and stretching out their arms. They wear huge, futuristic glasses on their heads. They are completely immersed in the virtual game, giggling and chuckling like children, until the harsh economic reality forces them back to their jury chairs.
Nils Glagau in particular is immediately back in his role. He briefly dismantles the concept of “Holocafé”. The idea of real locations for virtual reality experiences is not new, the competition is huge. “I see zero USP.” Besides, the game didn’t exactly blow him away. It seemed different – but that’s just how it is when fiction and reality collide.
No treats are good enough for “The Lion’s Den”
At the pitch of “PuriPet” – instant cat food with no added sugar and less packaging waste – the mood is initially exuberant. Carsten Maschmeyer complains about the ultra-lame claim that is prominently placed in the stage design: “Food out / water on / the cat’s feast is ready.” Exactly his humor.
But a short time later he skewers the two 24-year-old founders because of their forecast of wanting to increase sales from the current 5,000 to soon 300,000 euros. That’s a “powerful number,” he sneers – and gets out. Glagau also judges: “It won’t work.” The two cat lovers sneak out of the studio quietly and completely depressed.
Is rocking the new sitting?
It is difficult to predict in the current season which product will receive a financial boost and which will not. A piece as bulky and incredibly expensive as the “Backboon” – a standing aid with a rocking function – is usually a case in the “Lion’s Den”: great idea, extremely comfortable, but unfortunately not worth investing in. But Ralf Dümmel has a sentimental flashback when he sees the piece of furniture, which is supposed to activate all the muscles in the body and lead to more concentration at the desk.
Many years ago, Dümmel completed his training in a furniture store in Bad Segeberg. He orders the founder a price correction (from 800 to 500 euros) and provides him with fresh capital amounting to 150,000 euros.
The inventors of the nasolabial fold patch are deeply in debt
Dümmel can be even more enthusiastic about them : You stick them on the nasolabial fold around the mouth, on the forehead or on the thigh. The two founders praise their product as “beauty care with an immediate effect”. The startup’s only flaw is that it is already in the bank’s account for 400,000 euros.
“They have debts,” the investors whisper to each other. They are also concerned about the fact that sales are not exactly going through the roof. Except we’re-doing-this-big-dumb: “I really want to do it!” he shouts – and almost falls out of his chair when he gets the contract.
Minimalism for higher earners
Janna Ensthaler’s enthusiasm for the rental toy from is also erratic
“Nomadi”. There is a large selection of children’s products on the platform that you can return as soon as you no longer need them – according to the motto: “We are the closet, the attic, the basement that you don’t have to have.”
But: The rental prices are steep and appeal primarily to high-income parents who can also afford the new minimalism. There is also a very lively flea market and sharing economy scene in this area.
“The Lion’s Den”
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But at Ensthaler the euro symbols shine in his eyes. The extremely competent founding couple – themselves parents of three children – can boast very pleasing sales figures. 70,000 euros per month. When its pain threshold is exceeded at 25 percent participation, it makes a counteroffer: 20 percent.
But despite all the enthusiasm: the investor remains firm. A quarter or nothing! Exhausted, the business economists give in. After the broadcast you will probably be happy about the 400,000 euro investment.
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Source: Stern