Sustainability topics at DHDL Switzerland, episode 3/4

The timing of the November 16, 2021 broadcast was not bad at all: COP26 in Glasgow has just ended. There was a lot of discussion about sustainability, but - as we know - relatively few decisions were made. But sustainability issues are also on the minds of young companies, and in a much more concrete way than on politicians.

Vegan ice cream melts lion hearts

For example, "Nomoo" with Rebecca Göckel and Jan Grabow from Cologne: "Sustainable and healthy" could be the claim for their vegan ice cream. But "Nomoo" stands for "ice cream without cow" ("no moo"). With a dessert produced purely on a plant basis, sustainably and with minimal CO2 emissions, Rebecca and Jan are about to conquer the German market. Supported by Fabio Matticoli, they now want to make a splash in Switzerland as well. And that is what they are doing with their presentation. Even if Jan's short talk about melting polar ice caps may have come across as a bit didactic, the three founders professionally demonstrated the market potential and benefits of their vegan ice cream dessert, which is already available in nine flavors. Their offer to the lions: 450,000 Swiss francs for 4 percent company shares. "A sporty amount," as Lion Jürg Schwarzenbach stated. But everyone liked the vegan ice cream, and the prospect of good sales - "Nomoo" expects to exceed the 10 million mark in 2022 - made the dollar signs light up for the five investors. Jürg Schwarzenbach suggested that they all commit 100,000 Swiss francs each in exchange for five percent company shares. An offer that the three founders wanted to reconsider. They made a counteroffer: 600,000 francs for five percent shares. But the lions remained firm, Patrick Mollet: "Take it or leave it". And that's how the deal was struck: The five lions invested 500,000 francs in Nomoo - a fine example of successful negotiation with investors.

On the "lion's catch" with other sustainability topics

The solution of the three brothers Christoph, Adrian and Patrik Bertschi with their company "SmartBreed" was also about sustainability. They have developed an automated grasshopper breeding box. With this, they want to fight against the environmentally harmful production of soy animal feed. The locust breeding boxes allow zoos, farmers and food manufacturers to produce their own protein feed. The grasshoppers feed on agricultural byproducts. They are then fed to zoo animals and laying hens or processed for human consumption. Lions meet animal feed, you might say, and they certainly bit. The three brothers wanted 100,000 Swiss francs in exchange for 2 percent of the company, but Jürg Schwarzenbach soon said, "You need more," and offered 300,000 in exchange for 10 percent. Roland Brack also made an offer: 200,000 against 10 percent. Patrick Mollet also offered 100,000 francs, asking for 3 percent of the company. After a short consultation, the three brothers accepted Jürg Schwarzenbach's offer. They are now looking for farmers who are as innovative as the three young entrepreneurs.

And once again a fintech company comes away empty-handed

The fact that fintech companies have a hard time with the lions has already been a previous episode shown. This impression was also confirmed by the business idea of Ivan Sosio and Oliver Steeg: With "Sparbatze" they have created a digital pension platform. Via an app, services in the areas of investment, insurance and finance are to be made easily accessible to those people who are less inclined to deal with such issues but still want to put something aside for pillar 3a. With "Sparbatze", the user invests exclusively in securities, and not just any securities: as what it claims to be the first company in Switzerland, "Sparbatze" namely enables its customers to invest in thematic categories such as greentech, robotics or equal rights. "Everything has been heard many times before," was the basic tenor of the lions. Even the fact that a prominent brand ambassador, hurdle sprinter Kariem Hussein, was brought in did not change the fact that none of the five lions could warm to the product. Tobias Reichmuth, for example, was less than enthusiastic about the fact that two major partners, a cantonal bank and an insurance company, were already involved. As a result, no deal was struck, especially since the three men seemed to have forgotten one important detail: to show how their app actually works...

From French-speaking Switzerland to German-speaking Switzerland

Leila Delarive and Salvador Garcia from Lausanne then brought some French charm to the show with their automated advertising platform "Amplifiy". They sympathetically explained how small companies in particular, which usually have extremely limited advertising budgets, can use a digital marketing assistant with "Amplify". This allows an end-to-end advertising experience, such as content creation, ad sales and landing page. In French-speaking Switzerland, the solution already seems to be working well, with the two founders reporting 2000 registrations, half of which are active users. In order to be able to take off in German-speaking Switzerland as well, they wanted an injection of 250,000 Swiss francs from investors in exchange for a 6 percent share in the company. Amplify's growth plans are ambitious: they want to reach 3,000 customers by the end of this year, and 18,000 next year. This caused Jürg Schwarzenbach to frown: He does not believe in such rapid growth and dropped out of further negotiations. In other respects, too, the lions questioned the somewhat unclear positioning vis-à-vis Google Ads and vis-à-vis customers who are not yet as digitally affine. Nevertheless, Anja Graf and Roland Brack made an offer of 250,000 Swiss francs in exchange for a 10 percent stake. Leila Delarive and Salvador Garcia only had to think about it for a moment and grabbed it.

Thoughtful invention - but more of a hobby

Christian Schmid, an airline pilot by training, presented his invention "Swiss Cobra" to the five lions. This is a so-called "burn-off stand" for fireplaces. On it, the logs can be stacked in such a way that they do not touch each other. This enables an optimal air-gas exchange in the fireplace, as Christian Schmid explained. When used correctly, the fireplace owner saves wood and protects the environment due to reduced particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions. What's more, the company plants a tree for every product sold. A well thought-out product overall, as the Lions also found. But at 119 francs, it certainly has its price. With around 11 million owners of fireplaces in the DACH region, this would add up to a considerable sum. Nevertheless: A deal - Christian Schmid wanted an investment of 80,000 francs in exchange for a 20 percent stake - did not materialize. Roland Brack at least offered to include the "Swiss Cobra" in the product range.

Startups lead the way with sustainability issues

Conclusion of this program: While politicians discuss sustainability at the highest level with virtually no results, there are resourceful entrepreneurs who rely on deeds instead of words. In some cases, this has been rewarded with prestigious investments. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. One success from one of the last seasons of "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" was the sustainable underwear by subscription called "Flizzer". Thanks to investments from Roland Brack and Anja Graf, the Bernese company has expanded and is currently working on the production of women's underwear.

Interviews with two investors on "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" can be found at here, a review to the broadcast of November 9, 2021 there is here.

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