Does our hörbert fit into the Lion's Den?

Every now and then, we are asked about the TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen“. Some can easily imagine seeing a pitch from hörbert and are sure: this stylish music box is bound to get a deal! Of course, we have also toyed with these thoughts in the past and there has even been some exchange with DHDL.

Find out what we think of the format and whether we see our children’s MP3 player hörbert on the show in this article.

2016: First contact with DHDL scouts

In fact, the scouts from DHDL were already at our booth at the Toy Fair in Nuremberg in 2016. We were represented there in the joint area of the Young Innovative Companies. Hörbert even snagged one of the coveted spots in the TrendGallery. So we had a little chat with the scouts, although we already suspected that it wouldn’t suit hörbert, because: DHDL investors are predominantly the classic “in, up, and ideally out” investors. They look for popular ideas and products that can be quickly marketed with a large multiplier and be on store shelves by the time the episode airs. This became very clear at the latest with Ralf Dümmel, who regularly places his deals in discount stores on time. It’s a great business for him and the startups, but it wouldn’t work with our sustainable hörbert.

hörbert and DHDL

We believe that our hörbert does not fit into a den full of lions.

Firstly, we simply cannot increase our production numbers tenfold if we want to continue manufacturing by hand in Germany and if customer service is important to us. In our view, a deal with a lion would have been very risky for the company’s sustainable growth.

Secondly, we want to sell a product that meets our high quality standards. For a discount price, we would have to cut down on many aspects which incur costs. One would have to cut the quality standards out of our DNA, and then there’s the matter with the wood…

Thirdly, we work in a form of self-organization (Teal). This has a lot to do with mindfulness, freedom, and individual responsibility. Since we cannot assess the lions in this regard, it would be a very risky undertaking for the well-being of our team. The investor would then become part of the self-organization and would need to know and live the principle accordingly well.

So no hörbert on VOX?

Mainly for the reasons mentioned above, we believe that applying to DHDL would not be effective. Although it would be an appearance on a widely-watched show and would certainly provide a visibility boost, we feel that our business model as well as our sustainable goals and visions do not align with the objectives of the show’s investors. You can’t force sustainability into people’s minds with a crowbar. At worst, something could have gone wrong during the show, resulting in more harm than benefit.

Crowd-investments are more attractive for our way of operating, as they could make our company a tool for many investors who would like to use their money to contribute more to the common good, by embedding sustainability even more deeply—perhaps even literally—from childhood. We are currently exploring these options.