The lion’s den
The main thing is beautiful or tasty
André Gall (left) and Thomas Willberger present WireStyle.
© RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
Safety and inclusion cannot score in the new episode “The Lion’s Den”. Instead: decoration, food and personalized art.
Heidi and Peter really want to get out of the “Lion’s Den” (Mondays, 8:15 p.m., Vox), but they can’t. Nico Rosberg (36) lends a hand, tries to calm down, Carsten Maschmeyer (62) comments: “A Formula 1 world champion hasn’t stroked you either!”. Heidi and Peter are sheep from whose wool the founders Alice Özserin (30) and Anne Baltes-Schlueter (41) make a kind of sock for balcony planting. These can be delivered to the front door individually or as a subscription via “The Plant Box”, the customer only has to place them on the balcony.
Sheep’s wool has a very special function, as horticultural scientist Alice Özserin explains. “It’s biodegradable and water-regulating.” Ingredients such as potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen or sulfur serve as fertilizer for the plants. The self-confessed plant fan Maschmeyer doesn’t exactly see big business, but: “My garden heart has defeated the capital head, the rational.” Together with Judith Williams (50), he joins the company for 150,000 euros for 20 percent. And then he’s all a capitalist again: “Grow, grow, grow!” he urges the women and sheep to say goodbye.
To Guadn from Bavaria
The next invention is not quite as animal-friendly: Bayern Munich Alexader Feilen (34) and Tobias Daniel (30) want crispy grilled food for everyone. To Nico Rosberg’s great relief, however, there is first a small Bavarian course: “Crispy means crispy for us. Belly meat means Wammerl for us. And instead of ‘bon appetit’ we say ‘An Guadn’,” explains Alex. Rosberg relieved: “I really panicked a bit at the beginning.”
Once the understanding has been clarified, the product can be explained: the friends invented a stainless steel construction that is supposed to give fish and meat the perfect crust. The men demonstrate the “barbecue must-have” directly in the studio – and the lions’ mouths are already watering. Well audible over the microphone, the Wammerl actually has a crust that inspires everyone. “Hammer”, said Nils Glagau (46) at the tasting. “Perfect”, agrees Ralf Dümmel (55). “Fantastic,” adds Dagmar Wöhrl (67). She and Dümmel want to get on board, Wöhrl tries to do it with local patriotism: “I prefer Bavarian founders,” assures Wöhrl from Bavaria. But the founders prefer Ralf Dümmel, who receives 25 percent of the company shares for 50,000 euros.
The friends Marco Colombo (34), Gian-Luca Menn (29) and Nadine Zdych (34) want to ensure more safety in water sports – but cool. Since water sports enthusiasts hardly ever wear life jackets on the surfboard or stand-up paddling, they invented a t-shirt that becomes a life jacket in two seconds. A friend’s accident on Lake Zurich made the founder Marco realize that the vests were necessary: ”She slipped and fell, dislocated her shoulder and could no longer move her arm.” Investors still have concerns: Williams, for example, sees too much competition and Glagau doubts “that the cool people are willing to spend so much money.” 149 euros should cost security in water sports. The lions discuss the problem after the friends left disappointed without a deal. “Cool water sports enthusiasts – that’s such a small target group!”, summarizes Williams.
Personalized art – made of nails and thread
Thomas Willberger (31) and André Gall (38) recently quit their jobs for their idea: With WireStyle they want to put personalized pictures on the walls – but not with oil or printer’s ink, but with nails and thread. For this purpose, the two have developed software and a robot that “traces” photos with nails and thread. The lions are thrilled as soon as they hold the pictures in their hands: “It’s really impressive!” says Kofler. “It’s awesome, it’s unbelievable,” said Dümmel. “It really is a work of art,” agrees Dagmar Wöhrl. Nils Glagau wants to join: “I would like to invest in your art.” He offers 200,000 for 20 percent, the founders trade him down to 17.5 percent of the company shares. Before they leave, the other lions ask if they can take their thread picture portraits with them. “Yes, you can have yours!” the founders offer. Glagau intervened directly: “No, no, no!” But Maschmeyer makes it clear: “He only has 17.5 percent, he has nothing to say here!”
The last pitch would be of great help to blind people. Commercial entrepreneur and thriller author Ralph Brey (40) invented an e-book reader for the blind. To do this, he wrote software that converts an e-book into a virtual Braille book. The blind person feels the letters with their index finger on a kind of mouse. “For blind people, smart braille means access to literature, education, inclusion and self-determination,” explains Brey. With the help of the lions, he wants to go into series production with his prototype. The 40-year-old needs 300,000 euros for this and offers 20 percent shares in the company. However, he does not get a deal for his idea – the lions have concerns about the complicated financing and do not find the business concept sufficiently developed. Nevertheless, Brey remains optimistic: “I’ve always achieved everything in my life – none of it on the first try. That’s why it was the bad start and now the right one is coming.”