“The Lion’s Den”
“I had a black eye from the airbag”: How Ralf Dümmel once fell asleep in the car
Likes to talk about his experiences on “Die Höhle der Löwen”: Investor Ralf Dümmel
© RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
A bag opener, a cleaning agent set for children, a vegan bag sauce and outrageously expensive lawn lights: In the current episode of “Lion’s Den”, there were rather few groundbreaking product innovations. But there was more time for smaller skirmishes between the lions – and a very personal confession from Ralf Dümmel.
The bet is valid: one meal for every 300,000 tension springs sold. If Ralf Dümmel reaches this mark or even surpasses it, Carsten Maschmeyer puts on his cooking apron. If he stays below, “Mr. Regal” invites his fellow lion to a restaurant. Because: “You don’t want to eat my home-cooked food.”
The friendly controversy ensued around a pouch holder system called O Spring (read the star test more here), which is intended to enrich everyday life with another life hack. Nothing more than a niche product, was the opinion of the majority of investors. In addition, a loan of 250,000 euros, which the O-Spring maker from his parents’ company shot into the product, caused abdominal pain. No problem for Dummel. For him, solving the problem was more important. “Everyone has asked someone at some point: Can you hold the sack for me? From now on nobody has to ask themselves this question anymore.” The future will show whether he is right – or whether the bag opener is a case for the bin.
“The Lion’s Den”
Bankruptcies, bad luck and wealth: what happened to the DHDL founders in previous years?
Microsleep at 200 km/h
The 56-year-old entrepreneur from Hamburg was once again the busiest player in the pitching arena. At the appearance of MyGutachter, a startup that offers digital accident reports, he shocked with a private story. 17 years ago, he said, he fell into a microsleep on the Autobahn at 200 km/h and crashed into a heavy-duty truck. “I was extremely lucky and only broke my leg. I also had a black eye from the airbag.” Dümmel refrained from a deal – Maschmeyer got in instead – but he put everything on one card in another project.
A founding couple – she a nutritionist, he a sports trainer – has brought a protein powder onto the market that is supposed to turn sauces “from villains to superheroes”. If you believe the lions, the taste of Veprosa (one star-Editor tested the sauces) better than the claim. Three investors jumped at the vegan bag sauces. Nils Glagau was ready – original sound – “to deliver you any promises when it comes to the number of shelves.” New juror Tillman Schulz boasted about his “insane contacts” and his expertise (“If there is anyone here who understands food from the bottom up, it’s me”). As an additional argument, he added another 100,000 to the required 100,000 euros. And Ralf Dümmel broke his iron rule of never staying below 20 percent in investments. The fit vegans gave him the nod.
“Rolls-Royce of lawn lighting”
A single mother who presented cleaning kits for children to mix themselves was left without a deal. “That was the sweetest pitch I’ve experienced here in all these years,” said Carsten Maschmeyer, empowering the 42-year-old foreign language assistant, who brought her two twin sons with her to help. But the arguments against an investment outweighed the financial professionals. Too few USPs, no proof of concept. Janna Ensthaler assured the founder somewhat hypocritically that she would buy her children the sets immediately – and a sentence later transformed from mother to business woman: “It’s not the venture capital case.”
The Vole Light team of three – a father with his two sons – also has to look for other investors. The lions denied the mass marketability and scalability of the lawn lights that can be raised and lowered. Maschmeyer called them the “Rolls-Royce of lawn lighting”, not without reason given that they cost 350 euros each. In addition, the lamps, which can be controlled via app, gave off a “light that was too industrial” for his taste. Rum and out. After all, who likes that factory feeling in their green natural oasis?
This article contains so-called affiliate links. Further information are available here.