LifeSaveAir Wins Ralf Dümmel's €100,000 Deal on DHDL

Ralf Dümmel is investing €100,000 in the Dortmund startup LifeSaveAir in exchange for 25 percent of the company. The three founders secured the deal on the German TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (DHDL) after a pitch that began with a personal story.

Co-founder Nabil Chehade told the investors how his young son Jonas choked on a piece of strawberry six years ago while playing. "He didn't cough, he didn't cry, just that look. Panic in his eyes," he said. His wife eventually dislodged the piece by hitting the boy's back several times. Together with his cousins Aiman and Jusef Chehade, he later developed the "Lifesaver".

How the device works

The Lifesaver is a purely mechanical medical device for acute airway obstructions. A mask creates negative pressure at the pull of a handle, which is meant to draw a solid foreign object out of the airway. The founders say it is aimed mainly at laypeople and should become as natural as a fire extinguisher or a defibrillator, with households, daycare centers, care homes, companies and restaurants as target groups.

Dümmel tested the device on a dummy and was convinced. He also recalled that his own son once swallowed a chocolate candy and that he had used the Heimlich maneuver.

Doubts about the numbers

The investors were more critical about the figures. The device sells for €79 and costs about €15 to make. Carsten Maschmeyer asked whether that was a lot for a bit of plastic. The founders pointed to four and a half years of development and registration as a approved medical device, with about €500,000 invested from their own companies. Since approval seven months ago they have sold around 600 units, generating roughly €40,000 in revenue.

Four of the five investors dropped out. Frank Thelen missed a sense of urgency, while Janna Ensthaler said consumers are skeptical of products they might only need someday. The cousins also run a care agency and a wholesale business with eight-figure annual revenue.

Dümmel was left as the last option. The founders raised their offer from 10 to 20 percent, but he held out for 25 percent, and they accepted. The founders say they are selling their other companies to focus fully on LifeSaveAir. Whether the deal closes after the recording remains open.