Review DHDL Switzerland, 3/2: One million for better sleep

Tuesday evening, November 2, 2021, and again in front of the TV: The second episode of DHDL Switzerland was on the program. Marcel Paa from Sins, author of the baking book "einfach backen" and known to regular viewers of the CH media channels as a jury member on the show "zuckersüss & bitterzart," is now also among the entrepreneurs. He presented "Hello Sweety," a sweetener that has all the properties of commercial sugar but 50 percent fewer calories. One of the lions is to help his venture along with an investment of 100,000 francs in exchange for a 5 percent stake, according to the idea. The special thing: Marcel Paa has not even founded a company for the production of "Hello sweety". This naturally led to some question marks among the lions. But Patrick Mollet got on board anyway at the conditions proposed by Marcel Paa. Jürg Schwarzenbach also offered 100,000 francs, but wanted a 10 percent share. Roland Brack went all out: 150,000 francs for a 10 percent stake. But Patrick Mollet won the bid. He probably made a bargain, because until the end the neo-entrepreneur concealed the fact that his product was already listed with a major distributor...

Million deal at DHDL Switzerland

Anna Windisch, Dominik Hollinger and Max Sieghold are behind the ETH spin-off "Sleepiz". They have developed a device that monitors sleep without contact, measuring pulse, breathing and body movements. This makes it comparatively easy to diagnose suspected sleep apnea without the patient having to visit a sleep lab. The device can be dispensed by general practitioners for home use. The attending physician then has access to the measurement data via software. The three young entrepreneurs appeared self-confident, professional and well-versed in their field: Their investment proposal was one million Swiss francs in exchange for a 5 percent stake in the company. All the lions were impressed by "Sleepiz" and its potential in the health sector. Jürg Schwarzenbach dropped out, the four others, Bettina Hein, Anja Graf, Roland Brack and Lukas Speiser then jointly offered the desired million, but demanded a share of 8 percent. The young entrepreneurs, however, only wanted to offer a maximum of 5.5 percent. The deal then came about in this way - "a big house number," as lioness Bettina Hein stated on behalf of the company.

So that was the biggest deal of this season so far. Back on the ground, or rather under the ground, was the startup "WormUp," a home composting system that works with real worms. The odorless conversion of organic waste into fertilizer - that's the product promise. But the whole thing comes at a price. The team led by Sarah Steiner and Nikolai Räber sells the thoroughly aesthetic composting systems for CHF 365, including the "worm starter set". According to the founders, they would have generated CHF 500,000 in sales with them in 2020. With an investment of 340,000 francs, they want to take off further. The five lions certainly saw the qualities of the product. But they thought it was still too early for such a high investment. A deal therefore did not materialize.

Entering a market niche with vegan fondue

Exciting for the TV viewers would have been some olfactory "augmented reality" with the next founders: Ornella Lo Giusto and Katarina Skybova from Zurich presented their vegan fondue "Samses." The two operators of the eponymous restaurant developed a lactose-free, nut-free and palm oil-free recipe for a cheese-free fondue. The fondue seemed to meet the taste of all the lions, the condition "chli stinke muess es" was fulfilled, noted Bettina Hein. Lion Tobias Reichmuth outed himself as a fan. Despite all the enthusiasm, however, the investors were bothered by the fact that the two founders could not quite make up their minds: To continue their restaurant or to focus fully on fondue production. Tobias Reichmuth then offered CHF 200,000 in exchange for a 10 percent stake on the condition that Ornella and Katarina go "all in". While Jürg Schwarzenbach, Patrick Mollet and Bettina Hein dropped out, Roland Brack also made an offer. The "bidding war" finally ended in the following deal: Tobias Reichmuth and Roland Brack got in together with a total of CHF 400,000, but wanted a 20 percent stake. So this is how "moitié-moitié" works, as the off-commentary noted.

A right product - but probably targeting the wrong customers

Polish-born engineer Dariusz Lewicki and his partner Elzbieta Taborek presented "WC Fresher," a toilet cleaner that is designed to tackle several unloved problems at once: The regular cleaning of the toilet bowl and the chronically too high doses of conventional cleaning agents used for this purpose. "We're retiring the WC duck," is the whimsical claim. The new thing about the "WC Fresher": it is installed directly in the cistern. With each flush, the toilet bowl is descaled, cleaned and disinfected. With 250,000 Swiss francs against a 25 percent stake in the company, Dariusz Lewicki now wants to market his product further. The reservations of the lions came immediately: The assembly is too complicated for "normal consumers". However, it could be interesting for hospitals or the hotel industry. But this would require other distribution channels. None of the lions wanted to invest, but Roland Brack promised to include the product in the range. Tears of disappointment gave way to joy, however, when Dariusz Lewicki and Elzbieta Taborek were presented with an appearance on "MediaShop" as a "consolation prize.

In this broadcast of DHDL Switzerland, too, the lions showed their rather "comfortable" side; there were one or two critical questions for the young entrepreneurs, but they didn't really have to show their teeth. This was probably due in no small part to the very well prepared candidates, who all made a professional impression in their pitches. In this respect, one can wish them all entrepreneurial success from the TV chair with a clear conscience.

Interviews with two investors on "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" can be found at here, there is a review of the program from October 26, 2021 here.

Information about the next shipments: https://www.3plus.tv/die-hoehle-der-loewen-schweiz