Vlippy at DHDL: This is how the deal with Ralf Dümmel went after the show

"Who wants to vlip out with us?" asked Bianca and Malte Fürstenberg after pitching their product "Vlippy," a door and window stopper, on "The Lion's Den." The two Hamburg natives demanded €25,000 for a 20 percent cut and promised the lion who clinched the deal a golden lion trophy engraved with the words: "A lion opens doors, Vlippy holds them open."

Malte Fürstenberg is a trained engineer and works part-time. He spends the rest of his time as an inventor, or as he calls it, an "Innonaut" – a combination of the words "innovation" and "astronaut." "Inventor and Gyro Gearloose sound so trite, so we gave ourselves a name," he explains. That's why he patented the term "Innonaut" right away. In fact, the 36-year-old and his partner have already registered over 20 patents and trademarks.

In addition to an inflatable tree guard and an automatic head-scratching machine, Malte Fürstenberg has a long list of other ideas. He now has over 182. Bianca Fürstenberg, a business graduate, complements the founder. The two have been together for more than half their lives, the couple reveals in an interview with Gründerszene.

It was none other than product and retail king Ralf Dümmel who was the first to criticize the founders. There are already countless door wedges available. The founders then emphasized what makes Vlippy special: It can be flexibly attached to window and door frames, is very small and handy, and requires no installation.

Judith Williams thinks the idea is great. She emphasizes, "I have doorstops and they're incredibly annoying. I've stubbed my toe on them so many times." That's just one of the reasons Vlippy exists, explains Malte Fürstenberg. Doors and windows keep slamming when airing out the house, children slam doors, and cats need access to their litter box.

The story behind Vlippy's creation is just as creative and versatile as its uses. After a day of surfing, Malte Fürstenberg went to the sauna's relaxation room, he says. There, the door to the outdoor area kept slamming shut. This bothered him and other guests so much that he soon set about solving the problem in his tinkering workshop.

Williams and Wöhrl find the founding couple likeable and creative, but that's precisely where the problem lies in the two lionesses' opinions: "You're developing. There's already room in your head for something new. We stand for brand building and staying on the ball for a long time to generate success," says Dagmar Wöhrl. The oldest lioness in the group is therefore out.

Wöhrl isn't entirely wrong. Vlippy is by no means the only idea the founding couple has. Their website lists four other products for which they are currently seeking partners, not to mention the 182-plus ideas they have in store.

Among other things, you can find "Inhaly" online, a pacifier with a replaceable inhalation pad for colds in infants. Or a haptic, vibration-based indicator reminder for all vehicles with indicators. Or, derived from the inflatable tree technology: inflatable furniture that weighs significantly less than conventional ones. "We actually make a lot of niche products," says founder Malte Fürstenberg in an interview.

Williams, Maschmeyer, and Ensthaler see potential in the founding duo. Maschmeyer even emphasizes, "I'll be your customer," but all three lions are too far removed from the product and lack expertise.

That leaves only product and retail king Ralf Dümmel. He is ultimately won over by the lions' valuation. "We often complain about high company valuations. With you, I don't have to. That's nice," he says. He enters into the deal and is ceremoniously presented with the self-produced golden lion. "We produced it ourselves. I was inspired by Elon Musk's Cybertruck for the lion's origami design," Malte explains later in the conversation.

RTL / Bernd-Michael Maurer

Happy about the deal with Dümmel, Malte Fürstenberg says in the final interview on DHDL: “Our product has to be on the shelves, and who is Mister Shelf?”

Gründerszene followed up: Did the deal close after the show was recorded? The recording took place in January. "We were the last ones there on the day of the recording, so it was already very late." Nevertheless, they met Ralf Dümmel's team in a back room, reports Bianca Fürstenberg. Two weeks after the recording, they met in Stapelfeld near Hamburg and discussed everything else.

"Since our product was already finished, we were able to get started with packaging, marketing, and distribution right away," says Malte Fürstenberg. Overall, Vlippy is the fastest thing he's ever built. From the idea to the packaged, shelf-ready product, it took him only ten months.

That's why the Fürstenbergs are all the more pleased to announce that the deal with Dümmel has closed. Malte Fürstenberg is particularly grateful for Dümmel's support when it comes to marketing and sales. "Cold calling always really gets on my nerves. As an individual, you're immediately fobbed off when you call a retailer," he says. Vlippy can now be found on the company's own online site – and on Netto's website for €9.99.