The lions had to swallow hard.
On Monday evening there was again a haggling over company shares and investment sums at “Die Höhle der Löwen”. However, when the Swiss Thomas Gemperle (34), Pascal Buchholzer (29) and Bernhard Winter (27) from “Scewo BRO” took the stage, the lions could hardly believe their ears.
The trio opened: “We have the greatest need for capital that was ever required in ‘Die Höhle der Löwen’. We need five million euros! “
Their invention: The “Scewo Pro”, an electric wheelchair that can not only climb stairs very easily, but also slides smoothly over sand, gravel and cobblestones and even raises the seat so that objects can be reached higher up.
Dagmar Wöhrl tried out the invention of the three men himselfPhoto: RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
When the founders demonstrated the miracle device, the entire pride of lions burst into enthusiasm. Nico Rosberg (36) shook his head in disbelief: “Madness. Phenomenal!”
Dagmar Wöhrl (67) hadn’t expected such a performance: “It’s like something out of a science fiction film!” She tried out the super wheelchair straight away: “You have a good feeling. Totally stable! “
The general enthusiasm quickly turned into doubt when it came to the need for capital. Georg Kofler (64) was the first to ask the all-important question: “How can this be financed?” The trio of founders also had an answer for this – they are already in talks with various health insurance companies. In individual cases, the assumption of costs has even been approved.
The founders put the self-assessment of their start-up at 50 million euros and therefore landed at five million euros for a company share of ten percent.
That was decidedly too high for Kofler: “Please tell me how you get a rating of 50 million without blushing or fooling us.” The team responded to thousands of inquiries about the product.
Kofler was impressed, couldn’t hide his astonishment: “I have come to believe that you are megalomaniac, in a constructive sense. But the road is too rocky for me, so I’m out. ”
The demand was too high for Nico Rosberg: “I see three geniuses in front of me here, I think. But there is one problem, that is the sum. I can’t afford to pack five million into a single start-up. “
After Dagmar Wöhrl had also given a rejection, Carsten Maschmeyer (63) was the last chance. And he did something that had never happened before: He withdrew to speak to his team on the phone.
But Kofler’s conversation lasted far too long. He shouted piqued: “Carsten, you have to break up now. We want to continue here once in a while! “
The electric wheelchair can overcome obstacles such as stairsPhoto: RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer
The founders were eagerly hoping for a deal – but Maschmeyer had to disappoint them too: “You are an innovation bomb! But you can do something too well, too many functions. And the price goes up for that. I don’t think you built a Tesla for wheelchair users, you built a Rolls Royce. We have far fewer Rolls Royce drivers than VW drivers. That’s why I’m out! “
A bitter setback for the founding trio. Nico Rosberg, however, still hoped for success: “I think they can do it.”