"The Lion's Den" Can the testicle warmer also warm up the investors?
Carlotta Henggeler
29.10.2024
Two inventors have presented a testicle warmer on "Die Höhle der Löwen" - a revolution in contraception. Are Carsten Maschmeyer's investors convinced by the innovation? Deal or no deal?
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- Inventors Niklas Grohs and Rolf Tobisch present the "Cocooner" - a device that makes men temporarily infertile by heating their testicles.
- The investors see potential in the idea; Janna Ensthaler and Nils Glagau describe the method as "phenomenal" and "world-changing".
- However, the risk of complicated market approval is considered to be considerable.
- Despite interest, no investment deal is made.
The Vox investor show "Die Höhle der Löwen" has already seen many crazy and funny inventions. In the latest episode, two new entrepreneurs present a revolutionary contraceptive method: the testicle warmer.
Biomedical engineer Niklas Grohs (56) and electrician Dr. Rolf Tobisch (70) want to share the contraceptive burden more fairly between the sexes with a new contraceptive approach for men.
The Ronikja team argues that up to now, the responsibility for contraception has predominantly fallen to women and emphasizes the often massive side effects that occur with hormone-based methods such as the pill or IUD.
"Of the 250 or so common contraceptive methods, many put an enormous strain on the female hormone balance and sometimes have serious side effects," explains Grohs.
According to Tobisch, there is hardly any alternative for men: "Apart from condoms, men usually only have a permanent vasectomy."
The "Cooconer" paralyzes the sperm through heating
Their prototype, the "Cocooner", promises a non-invasive solution for men with few side effects: it immobilizes the sperm for around four weeks through targeted heating in the epididymis, making them unable to conceive.
The device takes effect after ten minutes per testicle and puts the man in a temporary state of infertility for a month. If the treatment is discontinued - bang - the man regains his full fertility after eight weeks at the latest, according to Grohs.
Grohs and Tobisch need a lot of money to advance the new contraceptive method. For the further development and market launch of the "Cocooner", they are offering the lions 25 percent of the shares in their Ronikja GmbH for 1.2 million euros - an ambitious demand aimed at the breakthrough of a world first.
Idea is "phenomenal"
Hot or junk, do the solvent financial lions see a glorious future for the testicle warmer for men?
The investors in the TV studio discuss the "Cocooner" for a long time and heatedly - and disagree. Janna Ensthaler says: "One of the biggest mistakes in my life is having taken the pill for so long." Such a development is "phenomenal".
Financier Nils Glagau sees potential in the invention and even considers it a "world-changing product". A novelty, but one that carries too great a risk.
Carsten Maschmeyer jokes: "I'd feel better if I used it together with the urologist the first time."
The entrepreneur points out that the approval process for the investment could be long - and possibly difficult.
In the end, however, the deal does not go through.