Die Höhle der Löwen Season 20: Which Deals Actually Closed
Of 44 startups in season 20 of Die Höhle der Löwen, 23 won a deal on air. Here is a look at several that made it past due diligence and into the real world.
The 20th season of the German founder show "Die Höhle der Löwen" ran from September to October. In total, 44 startups pitched to the investors, and slightly more than half, 23, secured a deal on air. But a handshake on television settles little: talks and due diligence follow the broadcast, and that is where deals either collapse or become real.
Deals that went through
Among the confirmed deals is Sauberdropz, cleaning tabs for drinking bottles from Andreas and Fabian Berger. Frank Thelen and Ralf Dümmel invested 65,000 euros for 25 percent. Irisgo, a leak-proof thermal mug with a wide drinking opening, convinced Andreas Herb with a package of 250,000 euros in classic equity plus 250,000 euros in revenue-based arrangements for 10 percent.
The most contested pitch came from Leonie Neisinger and her soft hair clips, Ivyclips. She originally asked for 150,000 euros for 20 percent, and every investor wanted in. Snocks founder Johannes Kliesch even offered a loan structure, but Neisinger chose Carsten Maschmeyer, who put in 300,000 euros for 10 percent. The clips are now sold at DM.
Pivots and new retail partners
Dekadome, a reusable drain cleaner, went to Ralf Dümmel for 60,000 euros and 30 percent. Alena Leeb's children's ice cream startup Poppy's got 40,000 euros for 40 percent from Maschmeyer and Kliesch. Because frozen goods are a difficult field, the company pivoted right after the show. It now sells freeze-dried fruit powder for yogurt and quark, plus fruit ice sticks to freeze at home.
The Don Quiff hair wax, backed by Judith Williams and Frank Thelen with 120,000 euros for 30 percent, is now also available at Flaconi. Zenny, ear acupressure kits, won 100,000 euros for 20 percent from Dümmel, the only offer the founder received. Hottey, a sweet-hot pizza sauce, secured 60,000 euros for 17.5 percent from Herb, who plans to focus on a sales push.
The list shows how often deals change shape between the studio and the signing, from altered products to different sales channels.
Apps worth a look
SUMO: the number puzzleTap the right tiles, add them up, hit the target. Easy to learn, hard to master. Free, for all ages.
Dialo: learn languages by speakingTalk to an AI conversation partner; every sentence comes back corrected and explained in your language. 9 languages, A1 to C2.
ediviewer: read EDI files like documentsOpen EDIFACT and X12 messages, see every segment explained, convert to JSON/XML, export PDF and Excel. Runs locally, no upload.
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