Anyone who watched the final episode of "The Lion's Den" on October 10th saw smiling faces towards the end of the show. These belonged to the founders of the Munich startup Parce. The company with the smart plug had just landed a deal with lion Frank Thelen and could hardly believe their luck. The juror had spoken of building a 100 million euro company. But that was too soon to celebrate. Because the deal fell through after the show.
At first it was thought that the Munich Parce had hit the jackpot. Their preferred candidate, Frank Thelen, had accepted the offer after a long haggling and thus approved the deal. The company originally wanted €500,000 for 10 percent of the company shares. In the end, it was 15 percent for €400,000 plus €100,000 in server capacity.
Thelen pulls the plug: competition too big
Previously, the other lions, Dümmel, Williams, and Wöhrl, had dropped out. The reason: it wasn't their area of expertise. Spectators immediately believed this. Carsten Maschmeyer showed a bit more insight into the subject matter, but also decided against investing due to the intense competition in the market.
Luckily, Frank Thelen was there, who probably had the most insight into what the three founders had just presented. As is usual with TV shows, the decision was made even more exciting until the deal was officially sealed. But only on TV. In retrospect, the collaboration didn't come to fruition after all. deutsche-startups.de The lion explained his withdrawal:
“After further discussions, we (…) decided not to invest because we view the competitive situation on the market too critically.”
How authentic can TV be?
This is precisely the reason that prevented Maschmeyer from accepting the offer during the broadcast. The question now arises as to whether the deal was sealed in front of the cameras merely to satisfy a certain drama that the evening program demands. After all, the Parce flop is by no means the first of its kind on "The Lion's Den." Beyond any speculation, one thing is clear: a proper risk assessment does not take place during filming. Admittedly, that would be difficult to accomplish. Nevertheless, it leaves a bitter aftertaste for viewers who are interested in startups and diminishes the format's authenticity.
The show also featured Munich resident Sebastian Simon from erledigungen.de But apart from warm words and praise from the jury, the founder unfortunately didn't take anything away from the Vox show.
Editor's note: As the startup has since announced, Parce has received an investment to continue despite Thelen's withdrawal: The business angel already involved has apparently supported the company again with a financial injection.
