“The Lions’ Den”
But no deal: Ralf Dümmel invested no money in the eco-confetti company
Ralf Dümmel tests seed confetti in the “Den of the Lions”
© Bernd-Michael Maurer / MG RTL D
His investor colleagues had warned him, but Ralf Dümmel liked the seed confetti idea from the “Lions’ Den”. Now Dümmel stated that he has not yet come to an agreement with the founders.
Confetti in the “Den of the Lions” – that went well with the anniversary edition of the founders’ show, which went on air for the 100th time on Monday. The seed confetti start-up product was not paper scraps, but seeds from 24 native plant species. Lion Ralf Dümmel liked the eco idea, he promised an investment of 200,000 euros. But the money has not yet flowed, as Dümmel announced after the show.
Dümmel wrote on Twitter: “The deal has not yet come about. We have not yet been able to agree on the strategic direction, we are still in an exchange.” After the program has been broadcast, they will sit down again. This was also confirmed by seed confetti co-founder Katja Filippenko in similar words to the “Gründerszene” portal.
It happens more often that deals from the show do not come about afterwards. For series investor Dümmel, however, it is the first investment in the current season that does not go through.
Difficult negotiations
There were already signs on the show that the deal might not be entirely unproblematic. The founders actually only wanted to give up ten percent of the company’s shares, Dümmel wanted 20 percent. After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was finally reached on 10 percent plus a further 5 percent, provided that Dümmel would place the products in at least 10,000 branches. The fact that the deal was not carried out by the time the show was broadcast makes it seem unlikely that the collaboration will result in anything else.
The other lions had already advised Dümmel against the deal on the show. “They think too much,” Carsten Maschmeyer whispered to Dümmel while the founders discussed Dümmel’s offer in the background. “Don’t do it,” added Georg Kofler. And even after the handshake in the TV studio, Maschmeyer continued: “Today you have a confetti party, tomorrow a hangover mood.”
Also read: How can you summarize 100 episodes “The Lions’ Den”? We tried it