These startups are on DHDL today

The 14th season of "Die Höhle der Löwen" starts today. Once again, fascinating start-ups are pitching for investment from the lions - exciting start-up stories, innovative ideas and new lions await us.

The first show of the 14th season of "Die Höhle der Löwen" (DHDL) from August 28, 2023 is all about innovative start-ups presenting their business ideas to the jury of lions. In this season, hopeful founders will once again be in the spotlight to present their ideas to a broad audience.

This season's lions, consisting of Nils Glagau, Carsten Maschmeyer, Dagmar Wöhrl, Janna Ensthaler, Tillmann Schulz and Tijen Onaran, are all experienced entrepreneurs and investors with a keen eye for new opportunities. They evaluate the business concepts presented not only in terms of their financial potential, but also in terms of their innovative strength, marketability and feasibility.

These start-ups are taking part today

The start-ups selected for this episode are

• Dr. Vivien Karl with a care product against intimate dryness
• Brizza with an unusual pizza variant
• Futurized with AI-based document reading
• Mitmalfilm and their animated coloring book
• Akoua with a vitamin C-rich cashew juice

They all have the chance to present in front of the lions and convince them of their business idea.

Regular readers of Startbase are already familiar with Dr. Vivien Karl. Only recently, in May of this year, we reported on the successful conclusion of a financing round amounting to 1.5 million euros. This underlines the active presence in the company.

The excitement builds as the founders present their visions and products. The lions have the opportunity to make investment offers and thus contribute to the realization of these business ideas. The show not only provides a platform for entrepreneurship and innovation, but also a fascinating insight into the decision-making process of the lions, who are always on the lookout for promising opportunities.

Critical thoughts on the format

However, the show "Die Höhle der Löwen" is also repeatedly criticized as it often only reflects the reality of the start-up scene to a limited extent. Young founders in particular sometimes have inflated expectations as a result of the show's portrayal, which cannot always be fulfilled in the real corporate world. The show focuses on the pitching start-ups and their products, but often neglects the complex challenges and lengthy processes involved in founding and growing a company. Last year, Startbase published a detailed article on why DHDL actually harms the startup scene.