The lions don't like valuations that are too high

This year's season of «Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz», which was broadcast on the TV channel 3plus, featured nine shows. 49 start-ups presented themselves, six of them in the final show. One of them was YourStarter with the brothers Nando and Fabian from Oberriet SG. They want to reinvent breakfast: healthy, quick and stress-free. Their meals made from frozen fruit, flakes and vegetables only need to be mixed with water. They have already sold over 120,000 portions, which has met with a positive response from the lions. 600,000 francs turnover in the first year of business - ’that's strong’, as Tom Zimmermann remarked. And the lions also liked the drinks mixed on site. The two brothers then entered the bidding race with 300,000 francs in exchange for a 3 percent stake in the company. However, this high valuation led to a lot of criticism from the panel, especially as it was based too heavily on optimistic forecasts. As was often the case in previous shows, a deal was not struck, even though the business model and the product itself met with much approval.

Negotiating skills lead to a deal

Jakob and Jean-Paul from Plenio in Baden wanted to do things better. With their AI-supported platform «Plenio», they want to democratize headhunting and not just limit it to executive search. Finding a perfect match for a job and thus creating a win/win situation for employers and employees - that's their claim. So you create a profile in Plenio and formulate your expectations and goals for a job. The AI then screens the job market for suitable vacancies. If a potential employer and job seeker are interested in making contact, a CV is automatically created and made available. Interested companies then pay an initial CHF 20 for making contact, with a further CHF 180 payable if a contract is actually signed. This is how Jakob and Jean-Paul presented their business model. They were now looking for an investment of 350,000 francs in return for a 10 percent stake so that they could get started with a large-scale marketing campaign. The predicted sales growth - from the current 350,000 to a whopping 13 million in 2026 - made lioness Bettina Hein turn her back on the idea. ’That's impossible,’ she said and immediately took herself out of the running. Roland Brack did not take part either. And when it was revealed that the two company founders themselves only had a 30% stake in the company because other investors were already on board, Tom Zimmermann had also heard enough. Only Felix Bertram and Jürg Schwarzenbach had a brief exchange of views: They could see some merit in the idea, even if they also found the ownership structure suboptimal. They made an offer of 350,000 francs in exchange for 15 percent. The shrewd company founders - it was clear that this was not the first time they had negotiated with investors - changed their original offer: 350,000 francs in return for 10 percent with a call option of 5 percent at a later date if the company took off. Felix Bertram and Jürg Schwarzenbach then got on board. «Hop or skip» was their conclusion.

AlpeDose: portable fondue

Fondue even at lofty heights? Students at a Zurich high school have founded a company that offers canned fondue including a rechaud. The idea is that the traditional Swiss dish can be enjoyed anywhere, even on mountain hikes. The idea was met with enthusiasm by the lionesses and lions present. The youthful business acumen of Roman, Felix and Nikolas (none of the three were older than 19), who presented their pitch with ease and were well prepared to counter many of the investors« critical questions, was particularly appreciated. In response to Lukas Speiser's objection that the three-part rechaud base made of steel was a little heavy, they presented a version made of aluminum. They also presented a fork that could be dismantled. But were all these good ideas enough for more than a first flight of fancy? The answer: not quite. There was no deal, but there was a lot of praise for the three youngsters, who are all about to study at ETH. Instead of investing too much energy in portable fondue, they should concentrate on their studies, which possibly promise them even greater flights of fancy, was the general consensus in the »lions' round".

When male lions can't (or don't want to) have a say

Who doesn't dream of being dressed by a stylist? This app aims to make it possible: it optimizes your closet and combines outfits with the help of AI. The idea was presented by Tatjana from Küsnacht, who herself can look back on many years of experience as a style consultant and stylist on television. The app only exists as a beta version. But with an investment of 100,000 Swiss francs in return for a 5 percent stake in the company, things are finally set to move forward. The goals are ambitious: Tatjana wants to penetrate the entire DACH region by 2027 and then be in the black. Women can join for 15 francs a month, with an annual subscription costing 99 francs. The male lions were a little envious because the app is explicitly aimed at a female audience. The lionesses, on the other hand, saw potential in the solution. After all, they could well understand the challenge of having ’a whole wardrobe full of nothing to wear«. However, a deal was ultimately not struck: Bettina Hein thought the stage was too early for an entry, Felix Bertram thought - once again - that the valuation was »too steep«. And yes: the other male lions simply did not consider themselves competent enough to have a say in this business case.

Stress, when what we need is relaxation...

Three out of four people are stressed every day, with consequences for their skin and hair. VEDIC LAB, presented by Alina and Vera, aims to remedy this with Ayurvedic products. Natural ingredients such as almond milk, coupled with Swiss biotechnology, are intended to provide the appropriate effect. The products seem to be popular with customers; the two founders reported a repurchase rate of 20 percent. But as soon as the presentation ended, the valuation itself caused stress among the pride of lions. The 600,000 Swiss francs called for a 4 percent stake left Felix Bertram, a dermatologist and familiar with the problems presented, visibly empty-eyed. He also questioned the studies mentioned by the entrepreneurs. He was the first of the lions who did not want to make an offer. The objection that the company had been assessed by a professional valuation agency did not work either. ’With these companies, you always get the valuation you want,« says Lukas Speiser. However, he decided to challenge the two entrepreneurs with an offer: 600,000 francs, but for a 20% stake. After all, he saw potential in the products and the business model. However, the deal did not come to fruition, as Alina and Vera stuck to their guns and were not prepared to give up such a large share of the company.

Are the lions «on the dog»?

All owners want a healthy, vital dog. Tradidog uses special food supplements based on omega-3 fatty acids to achieve this. In powder form, the product can simply be added to the dog's usual food once a day. Kim and Ben, the founders of tradidog, want to increase awareness of the brand with an investment of 250,000 Swiss francs in exchange for 10 percent of the company shares. The conditions would actually be good, as two dog owners, Felix Bertram and Tom Zimmermann, are sitting in the lion's circle. But the more Kim and Ben argued, the more skepticism grew. Is marketing alone enough in the highly competitive pet market? Lukas Speiser thought the company valuation was too high and dropped out. Tom Zimmermann also felt that the brand needed to be popularized first. However, he could not offer any support and also declined to make an offer. Dog owner Felix Bertram was also bothered by the excessively high valuation, but indicated that he might want to get on board later. Nicole Büttner-Thiel had no interest in the product at all: ’I would be the wrong investor,« she said and was also out. That left Roland Brack: he liked the product and its benefits and offered to include tradidog in the Brack.ch range. But he didn't want to invest either. But Kim and Ben took the feedback on board - determined to continue on their path even without »lion« support.

The conclusion of this and the previous programs: Even if it wasn't always enough for a deal, the majority of the business ideas presented will benefit from the media attention alone. This means that all of them are likely to achieve their goal in one form or another.

Click here for the program: https://www.oneplus.ch/catalog/1000604