9 questions for the founder of “The Lion’s Den”

In this questionnaire we ask the founders and participants of the Vox show “The Lion’s Den” questions about their products and experiences on the show. This time: Dennis Vietze, founder of Aquakallax.

More performance with less space requirement: That’s what they promise aquarium filter from aquacallax. Founder Dennis Vietze has also developed different versions for almost every aquarium size. With his product, he was able to convince investor Ralf Dümmel in the VOX start-up show “Die Höhle der Löwen”.

Before that, the 44-year-old Munsterlander worked on his invention for two years. The aquarium filters from Aquakallax are based on an already established and popular technology: the so-called “Hamburg filter mats”. But these usually require a lot of space. The special thing about Aquakallax: A concave shape that should be space-saving and yet powerful.

Aquakallax: Powerful and space-saving aquarium filter

BASIC thinking: Hello Dennis, you are in the thirteenth season of “The Lion’s Den”. How does that feel?

Incredibly exciting, highly emotional. That’s something you’ll never forget. This great opportunity to get feedback from successful entrepreneurs and business people and see if your product has the potential to be successful in the market is priceless.

What makes your Aquakallax product so special?

We have developed an aquarium filter that has more filter performance than conventional mat filters while requiring significantly less space. And that in a wide variety of designs for almost any aquarium size.

This coupled with the fact that our filters require little maintenance makes our product interesting for almost every aquarium owner.

The idea and concept of Aquakallax

How did you come up with the idea and concept of Aquakallax?

Many aquarists know the phenomenon that after a short time you already own two, three, four or even significantly more aquariums. For me there were over 20 aquariums within a very short time, just in the living room. Then the maintenance and cleaning of the filters can easily degenerate into work.

That’s exactly what bothered me so much that I asked myself how I could use the filter performance of large filters for small aquariums as well.

The problem that most filters for aquariums have to be cleaned frequently and because of their size are very annoying, especially for smaller aquariums, led me to develop the “Konkav-HMF”, the Hamburg mat filter.

“The Lion’s Den”

And how did you end up in The Lion’s Den?

We already knew that our concave HMF was really popular with the target group. We suspected that it had the potential to conquer the large market. But to make Aquakallax big, the “know-how” of a strategic partner was simply missing, with power in sales, in marketing and with the right contacts.

What is better than the Vox start-up show “The Lion’s Den”? With Ralf we now have a great partner at our side.

The pitch and the negotiations

What was on your mind just before your pitch?

The moment I stepped in front of the lions, I forgot everything. You can have followed every show, that doesn’t help you at all at this moment! I admire any founder who stands there and looks casual like they’re just ordering a pizza. I was definitely right the nozzle.

How did the subsequent negotiations go?

Everything went as expected, quickly and smoothly. Since Aquakallax has been able to show steadily increasing sales figures in recent years and as a family business we are not dependent on any third party, nothing stood in the way of our project.

Aquakallax: So it goes on now

What has happened to you and your product Aquakallax since the shoot and the participation?

Incredibly much. From new production facilities, more staff and storage space to a lot of know-how and much more work, there was hardly any time to catch a breath. But that’s exactly how it should be if you want to achieve goals!
And how does it continue? What are the next steps?

Gradually, our products should be available nationwide in brick-and-mortar retail. In addition, we are already gradually working on expanding international business.

Looking back, how would you rate your experience at The Lion’s Den?

This is an incredibly exciting experience from beginning to end, from A to Z. I was able to meet great people and received incredibly great feedback from customers. Plus, you can get a hurricane tailwind in terms of brand building. Looking back, my only regret is that I didn’t seek this opportunity sooner.

Thank you Dennis

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