DHDL: Horny Feet secures deal with Ralf Dümmel

Horny Feet founder Peter Kreitmeir calls himself the biggest DHDL fan and has watched every episode. Accordingly, he knows what he needs to say to win over the lions.

"If you look around at the outdoor pool, it looks really bad," said Peter Kreitmeir during his appearance on the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen." He was talking about calluses. Kreitmeir is the founder of Horny Feet and wants to use his product to "make foot care and callus removal sexier." Hence the name, as Horny Feet translates to "horny feet." The product: a shower callus remover that can be used to care for your feet in the shower.

To bring the production-ready prototype to market, he is demanding 50,000 euros for 25 percent of the company shares. That would correspond to a company valuation of 200,000 euros. Fair, says Ralf Dümmel . Most viewers and the other lions must have quickly realized that product king Dümmel is the right investor for Horny Feet. Accordingly, he quickly spoke up confidently after the pitch and asked Kreitmeir whether he was the lion the founder would want to make the deal with. "That's totally my thing," says Dümmel. As Gründerszene learned from investors, the deal was made after the show. "Horny Feet is one of those brilliant ideas that makes you ask: Why hasn't this been done before? Simple, practical and perfect for everyday use," says Dümmel.

There are always firsts on "The Lion's Den" – whether it's the biggest deal, the youngest founder, or the most embarrassing pitch. Kreitmeir's appearance immediately brought two firsts: For the first time, a juror took a shower live on camera. And for the first time, a founder secured a deal barefoot. But first things first: Even before Kreitmeir even took the stage, Janna Ensthaler and Nils Glagau agreed on a small side deal. If Ensthaler dares to step under the running shower, Glagau will pay her €2,000. Ensthaler didn't hesitate – Glagau had to pay. She wants to donate the money to the Braunschweig women's shelter, as she revealed on the show.

Then the actual pitch: Wearing flip-flops, Kreitmeir presented his callus remover and landed a deal. The 3D-printed prototype consists of a base element and a filing plate, and thanks to adhesive strips, can be attached to any shower corner. Ensthaler demonstrated how stable the whole thing is right there in the studio – and even ripped off a piece of parquet flooring while peeling it off.

Kreitmeir describes himself as the biggest "The Lion's Den" fan who has ever appeared before the jury – and his performance reflects exactly that. Prepared down to the last detail, he delivers convincing answers to every question and skillfully places the buzzwords that the lions respond to: He has a "product ready for production," he needs "sales and marketing support," Horny Feet is perfectly suited to various sales channels such as "teleshopping," but he also wants to "get the product on the shelves." The pitch is spot on. Even though the lions notice how professionally rehearsed his presentation is, the effort is well received. "We're always incredibly honored when founders come in and say, 'Fan of the first show,'" says Dümmel.

By the time the show was recorded, Kreitmeir, a computer science graduate, had already invested €20,000 of his own money in Horny Feet, he told the lions. He continued to work as COO at an IT service provider – his employer had released him for product development, he says. According to LinkedIn, he still holds this position at Optimal Systems. DS product managers Bastian Huse and Lars Stegelmann have since taken over management of Horny Feet.