“Lion’s Den”: Hansch cries and investors immediately agree

At the very end, it was once again highly emotional. This was ensured by a voice that could initially only be heard from off-screen – with a recorded match commentary from Schalke 04. It reminded us of an early radio afternoon with the legendary sports reporter Werner Hansch.

A little later, the now 85-year-old stood in front of the “lions” with slightly red eyes – and presented himself from his most vulnerable side, as a broken, deeply fallen man.

But also as a fighter for a good cause who had managed to pull himself together in his old age. What few people suspected: Hansch was a serious gambling addict.

Gambling addiction: Werner Hansch gambled away 600,000 euros

After his retirement, he slipped into an abyss. “I had a lot of money and a lot of time. The combination was my downfall.” He gambled away a fortune of around 600,000 euros. “In the end, it was all gone.”

Everyone who revealed it was initially speechless with shock – and then very impressed by the legend's courage to admit so openly to his addiction. Hansch has since overcome this. And he has a mission: as co-owner of the start-up “Zockerhelden”, he and lawyer Marc Ellerbrock want to help those affected to take up the legal battle against online betting providers, which were illegal in Germany for a long time. There is a real chance of getting money back that has been lost.

Williams, Wöhrl and Maschmeyer support Werner Hansch's project

“For me, this is the most moving moment,” said Judith Williams, now back on the investor team, and again alluded to the long history of “The Lion's Den”. With their enormous popularity, they want to help the “gaming heroes” become more well-known. And then even Carsten Maschmeyer and Dagmar Wöhrl, who is also a lawyer, jumped in to support the founding duo.

They invested 125,000 euros in “Zockerhelden” – for 12.5 percent. Then it was clear that the promise made in the opening show to the courageous Werner Hansch would be kept: “You're not leaving here without a deal,” star investor Maschmeyer had already predicted. And that's exactly how it went!

“Topfi” presentation to taste by Ralf Dümmel

Let's go back to the beginning of the show: Even before the famous Lions Gate opened, the investors suspected that the “topfi” presentation would be exactly what Ralf Dümmel wanted. And not just because the popular Hamburg native with the often brightly colored accents on his tailor-made suits has a sweet tooth.

Spoiler: There was no charge for Annette and Tomasz's pitch presentation, even though a kind of cooking studio with a hotplate and pots was set up on the Vox studio stage.

The inventor couple lent glamour to the opening show of the ten-year anniversary season of the classic “The Lion’s Den” – and did so with a very everyday object. However, it was more the style of their presentation that caught people’s attention.

And their approach, which was already clear in the short preliminary discussion with moderator Amiaz Habtu. The founders tick exactly the way “Mister Regal”, Ralf Dümmel, loves: “Problem solvers are our favorite projects,” said inventor Tomasz.

Countdown in the fight against the stopwatch

The duo actually came up with a great product and a bold promise: “We're going to break a record here,” said Annette confidently. And then she pressed a stopwatch – and the clock started. It was about the “fastest pitch of all time” – supposedly in just 60 seconds. As it turned out, behind “topfi” there is a real problem solver whose functionality can be explained in no time. And what was happening on the stove also spoke volumes.

It's about a pot lid holder. If you attach the “topfi” holder to the edge of the pot or pan, you solve the problem: where to put the hot pot lid? The solution provides more space, frees up your hands and prevents hot water or sauces from dripping onto the work surface and, in the worst case, leaving unsightly stains. An additional feature of the “Topfi”: the steam escapes through a small gap; the condensed water from the lid simply flows back into the pot.

And then they looked at the clock: the presentation had only lasted 50 seconds. Annette and Tomasz had really set a record and even beaten their own best. Ralf Dümmel had already jumped up and joined them.

The founding couple wanted 100,000 euros for 20 percent of the company shares. It quickly became a matter of answering a few questions. And of course the Makowskis had answers that – as a matter of honor – came like a shot.

Tomasz: “The fastest pitch and the fastest deal”

A “Topfi” costs around 20 euros, with a production cost of less than four euros. 4,600 units have already been sold. Now they need comprehensive sales support. And Ralf Dümmel would of course be just the right person for that. After the fastest pitch, would there also be the fastest deal in the history of “The Lion's Den”?

But yes! Ralf Dümmel said: “I claim that I am the perfect lion for this topic.” And there was no objection from his colleagues on the investor bench. On the contrary: it seemed as if everyone present was happy for Dümmel. He should please do the deal – but for 25 percent of the company. And that's what happened – a quick handshake, no long deliberation. The deal was perfect. “I'm happy,” Ralf Dümmel cheered – and quickly seemed a little breathless.

He had also pressed the stopwatch – and after less than three minutes the deal was done. That was also a record. And the founders are looking forward to a rosy future. “We think that things will continue to move forward quickly with Ralf,” said Annette happily.

Dümmel was so excited that he even went backstage and hugged the founders, his new partners, again. “That was really awesome,” Tomasz summed up the euphoria of the season opener. “The fastest pitch and the fastest deal!”

Nils Glagau mutates into a “VUP” model

Things went well right from the start of the first new show. The confident Carina from Munich, a graduate in aerospace engineering, concluded a 250,000 euro deal with Janna Ensthaler and Carsten Maschmeyer for a quarter of their company “nayca”. The company is based on a clever heat pad that can be used to relieve period pain.

The trio of mothers, who together launched “ratzfatz”, a range of frozen, healthy children's ready meals, sparked a small bidding war. They then happily concluded the deal with the duo of Nils Glagau and Tillman Schulz. Both want to make the food innovation big, and they secured 20 percent of the company shares for a total of 100,000 euros.

And then the infectious temperament of fashion expert Evelin from Switzerland caused a whirlwind in the cave. Even Nils Glagau showed his most lovable side and stepped in at short notice as a catwalk model for a demonstration of Evelin's “VUP” innovation. The downside: no one in the studio really believed that the smartly designed scarves, which can be worn in a variety of ways and by men and women, would one day replace ties. Unfortunately, no deal!

The original of this article “Hansch cries in “The Lion’s Den”, investors immediately agree to his idea” comes from Teleschau.