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“Die Höhle der Löwen”: Former TUM doctoral student inspires with start-up idea in TV show
On November 5, 2019, founders Jenny and Philipp Rathgeber convinced the investors of the TV program “Die Höhle der Löwen” (VOX) – the German version of BBC show “Dragons’ Den” – with a novel mouth oil. Business economist Philipp Rathgeber is a former PhD student of Holger Patzelt, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Entrepreneurship Research Institute of the Technical University of Munich. Rathgeber taught at the International School Management (ISM) before founding the start-up ELIXR together with his wife in 2018.
Mouth oil with taste closes a gap in the market
The founding idea is based on the Ayurvedic tradition of oil extraction: edible oil is swivelled back and forth in the mouth for a few minutes. According to Ayurvedic teachings, the body is purified in this way and the immune system is strengthened. Unlike conventional cooking oil, the newly developed oils have flavours such as mint or ginger – a gap in the market that the founders want to close with their products.
Three of the four investors in “Die Höhle der Löwen” were convinced by their approach: they offered Jenny and Philipp Rathgeber 150,000 euros for 20 percent of the company’s shares. The couple had asked for 75,000 euros. The deal was secured by investor and beauty expert Judith Williams.
The post “Die Höhle der Löwen”: Former TUM doctoral student inspires with start-up idea in TV show appeared first on Technical University of Munich – School of Management.
