Lions’ Den
Lions love stylish fruit sneakers

Lead foot before the e-bike deal: Ralf Dümmel and Nils Glagau (r.).
© Photo: RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
Sustainability can be so stylish. The best proof in this episode: e-motorcycles with recycled batteries and sneakers made from fruit scraps.
The focus of episode three of the “Lion’s Den” (Mondays, 8.15 p.m., on Vox or Sustainability is the focus of the show (on RTL+). Whether it’s vegan sneakers made from fruit scraps, stylish electric motorcycles with recycled batteries or children’s glasses made from the oil of plant seeds – the lions are impressed by the innovative power of most founders. Opinions are divided on a children’s glasses pitch, however. And then the lions experience the “worst pitch” in history.
“Your bikes are awesome, but you are giga!”
Motorcycles are the passion of the two best friends Marvin Rau (30, from Bargteheide) and Michael Szpitalny (29, from Hamburg). In the Lions’ Den they present their electric bike label Metorbike. Their stylish e-bikes with a retro look are powered by recycled batteries from the automotive industry. The highlight: a unique sound system provides a genuine combustion engine sound – from the classic moped sound to the roar of a V12. With a maximum speed of 50 km/h, anyone with a car license can get on immediately and enjoy the acceleration and sound. The founders are offering 17 percent of their start-up for 500,000 euros.
Ralf Dümmel (57) and Nils Glagau (48) don’t waste any time and do a few laps in front of the studio – with a lasting effect. Ralf Dümmel after the pitch and joyride: “I’m so excited about you. What you’ve achieved with the investment so far is sensational.” However, he doesn’t see himself as an investor. Nils Glagau is different: he puts the brakes on and seems to be all fired up for a deal. He spontaneously buys a bike from the founders with a handshake. But he wants more. Together with Carsten Maschmeyer (65), he is enthusiastic about the two graduate engineers. Both offer the requested 500,000 euros, but for 25 percent of Metorbike. The founders’ reaction: “We don’t need to discuss that.” They jump at the offer spontaneously. Carsten Maschmeyer enthuses: “Your bikes are mega, but you are giga. You are exemplary founders.”
“You don’t even know who the target group is”
Every child knows tofu these days. But tempeh? The vegan product from Asia is originally made from fermented soybeans. Highly protein-rich, it is a firm, easy-to-prepare food alternative. Jana Klauke (28) and Luca Menke (33) want to make their Tämptästic brand a market hit in Germany with the help of the lions – including variants made from chickpeas, green peas or quinoa. They are offering ten percent of their company for 40,000 euros.
The lions have never heard of tempeh. They see the need to cool the products as a hurdle. And after tasting them, they come to very different conclusions. Carsten Maschmeyer’s conclusion about tempeh: “It doesn’t taste good. I don’t understand it. That’s why I’m out.” Judith Williams (52), on the other hand, states: “I like the stuff.” However, the founders see the target group for their product as buyers over forty, “because they have more money.” Judith Williams reacts in shock and gives the founders their homework: “Who are you? What is tempeh? And who is the target group?” She sees the founders’ answers to these questions as still being low. Therefore, both leave the cave without a deal, but with valuable experience.
“You are my Christmas and birthday combined”
The market for sneakers in Germany is huge. However, most models are still made of real leather. Founder Viola Weller (28) from Ludwigshafen wants to banish issues such as animal suffering and poor working conditions from shoe shelves once and for all with her brand Vlace. Brave and determined, she traveled through Europe on her mission to produce ethically correct and stylish sneakers. 40 unsuccessful appointments later, she had found the right partner for her Vlace sneakers in a family-run Portuguese shoe factory. The shoes are made from orange, lemon, grape, apple and corn waste from Italy. “The ecological footprint of my Vlace sneakers is only a fifteenth of that of a conventional leather sneaker,” says the founder proudly. She asked for 200,000 euros for ten percent of her company shares.
The fashionable and comfortable fruit on their feet delighted the entire lion team. However, the “shelf kings” Tillman Schulz and Ralf Dümmel describe the shoe business as an extremely hot topic and are getting out. Janna Ensthaler (40) is not deterred by the objections of her colleagues: “My heart is pounding so much. Your sneakers have the USP. But first and foremost you invest in the founders. And you are my Christmas and birthday combined.” After a phone call with her father, founder Viola Janna Ensthaler grants 23 percent of Vlace. This means that the deal with her “dream lioness” is on solid ground.
Lionesses quarrel over children’s glasses
Manti-Manti founders Susann Hoffmann (42, from Berlin) and Philippa Koenig (36, from Hamburg) want to permanently polish up the image of children’s glasses: from the “spectacle snake” to an eye-catcher. Their premium glasses frames are not only beautiful and super flexible, they are also made of a sustainable, bio-based raw material from the seeds of the castor oil plant. In order to be able to continue to grow, the founders are hoping for support from a lion in the area of sales and marketing. Their offer: 500,000 euros for ten percent of the company shares.
The lions are initially impressed by the sustainable and flexible frames. However, the price of 198 euros per frame dampens their positive view of Manti Manti. Tijen Onaran (39) finds this business model “privileged” and would like to see at least a product that appeals to socially disadvantaged families.” Judith Williams can only shake her head at this. The next discussion between Tijen Onaran and Janna Ensthaler ensues over the question of the founders’ need for support, and then Tijen Onaran is out. Judith Williams thinks the children’s glasses market is “too niche” and she also says goodbye. For Janna Ensthaler, “the math” doesn’t add up with regard to the company’s valuation. She is the last lioness to pull out of the deal.
“The worst pitch I’ve seen here”
Whether you’re paying, calling a taxi or taking a unique photo, an empty cell phone battery is always inconvenient. That’s exactly why Denise Ossenberg (31) and Thomas Hühne (34) from Frankfurt am Main have developed their FiniBee power bank rental station. “The user downloads the FiniBee app and can then use the QR code at the station to take a power bank and charging cable,” explains Hühne, who is wearing a bee costume. The duo wants to expand across Germany and is asking for 100,000 euros for 15 percent of FiniBee.
Dagmar Wöhrl finds the concept “a bit complicated” and estimates the financial requirements to be much higher: “I don’t believe in the model and I’m out.” The 700 current users and the annual turnover of 3,500 euros do not convince the lions either: “Little yield for a year of testing,” says Nils Glagau. “You are setting up a sales system, but neither of you are sales people. It’s like playing with a football team without a goalkeeper,” says Janna Ensthaler. “This is by far the worst pitch I’ve seen here,” says Judith Williams. She is dropping out, as are her fellow lions.