9 questions for the founders 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: Alexander Rech and Ines Wöckl, the founders of flashers.
E-scooters and cycling are very trendy and protect the environment. But without turn signals and warning lights, there is a high risk of being overlooked by other road users. The founders Alexander Rech and Ines Wöckl have a solution for this: Flasher.
With their start-up of the same name, they have developed a set of two safety bracelets that serve as indicators, brake lights and additional lighting. With a simple arm movement to the respective side, the system triggers the turn signal, for example, while your hands remain securely on the handlebars.
In the event of heavy braking, Flasher automatically warns other road users with a red emergency brake light. Thanks to continuous lighting in jogging or night mode, the system ensures a safer feeling even when driving in poor visibility or at night and when jogging.
The lions and investors Ralf Dümmel and Carsten Maschmeyer secured the deal together.
Contents
Flasher: Smart tires for more safety on the road
BASIC thinking: Hello Alexander, hello Ines, you are part of the eleventh season of “DieHöhlederLöwen”. How does that feel?
Since we found out that we will be part of the VOX start-up show “Die Höhle der Löwen”, three emotions in particular have alternated: Firstly, there is the euphoria of being there, as this is certainly one of the company’s greatest milestones to date.
But there is also a push and an incentive to continue to work at full speed and to deliver high performance in order to make the most of this opportunity. Last but not least, all of us in the team feel it is a huge honor to be able to present our product to such a large audience and we are happy that it was well received.
What makes Flasher bangles so special?
Flasher is a set of two high-tech safety bracelets with a lighting system for cyclists and scooter riders – it is a turn signal, brake light and additional lighting in one. The special thing about Flasher is the positioning around the upper arms. It enables a whole range of advantages, such as intuitive gesture control for the indicator.
It also ensures that you are visible from all directions at eye level with drivers. In addition, left and right indicators are clearly distinguishable from each other. Since Flasher is worn by the driver, there is no effort for assembly and the bracelets can be used on any vehicle without any problems.
The idea and concept behind the Flasher bracelets
How did you come up with the idea and your concept?
The idea came in Vienna, in the summer of 2019. It was a lukewarm evening in the center of Vienna, and the then new e-scooter sharing services were everywhere. We, Alex and Ines, were curious and wanted to test the e-scooters right away. Driving was fun, but neither of us really felt safe.
Especially in the dark, during heavy braking maneuvers or especially because of the lack of the ability to give hand signals.
So we had a problem, a technician and a business administrator – (almost) everything you need for a start-up, we thought. The idea for Flasher came about in the course of numerous discussions and brainstorming sessions.
Shortly thereafter we were accepted with Flasher at the high-tech incubator Science Park Graz. The concept for Flasher, specifically the design as a gesture-controlled turn signal and automatic brake light, comes from the fact that driving an e-scooter is always more stable if you don’t have to let go of the handlebars or fiddle with a button while driving.
So it was clear to us early on: Flasher has to be controllable without losing stability. Over several prototypes, we slowly but surely came to the high-tech wearable that is Flasher today.
And how did you end up in The Lion’s Den?
We’re big fans of the TV format ourselves and, to be honest, we’ve always wanted to be on TV. So it was clear that at some point we would have to apply for the show anyway. Then there was the question of whether we should apply sooner or later.
We thought that such goals should be tackled straight away and the attempt paid off right away. Participation was and is a big step for us and we are already looking forward to the broadcast.
The pitch and the negotiations
What was going through your mind just before your pitch?
You’re definitely agitated beforehand and hope the pitch and props go as planned. The last few minutes before the start of the show, we only focused on the entrance door to the lion’s den and were simply 100 percent concentrated.
How did the negotiations go?
We were very tense, but we had competent and friendly contacts on the set for all areas.
The shooting itself was an experience that we will not forget for the rest of our lives. We managed to completely block out the cameras around us and focus 100 percent on the lions.
The pitch went perfectly, which gave us confidence for the Q&A. The lions asked a lot of questions, we really felt that they were interested in our product.
We had prepared for various scenarios in advance, but we would never have dreamed that we would be able to ‘flash’ all the lions and the cave would even rotate and the lions would pitch around us.
What has happened to you and your product since shooting and participating?
After the shoot, it was relatively quick to find a date for getting to know the lions and their teams for the first time. In the first few weeks after the recording, the first talks and workshops took place, where Flasher, our strategy and vision were discussed.
Apart from that, we didn’t keep our feet still within the team either. In the meantime, for example, we have successfully completed our advance sales campaign via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and have pulled out all the stops to be able to deliver our high-tech product this year despite the global chip crisis.
Flasher: So it goes on with the smart bracelets
What’s next? And what are your next steps?
Bringing a hardware product to market at the current time presents great challenges, especially for small businesses like ours. Despite the global electronics chip crisis and horrendous freight prices, the next important step is the delivery of our first products at the beginning of December to our customers from the very beginning.
At the same time, we will work on making Flasher accessible to as large an audience as possible. We are already working on product variations through which we want to make this possible.
In the B2B area, we are also already working on products with software that is individually tailored to companies, which means that part of the next steps is definitely research and development work. Internally, we strive for a future with a larger team, new products and many satisfied customers.
Looking back, how do you rate your experience at The Lion’s Den?
Ines Wöckl: For Alexander and me, “The Lion’s Den” is one of the most beautiful and formative experiences so far. I would be lying if I didn’t say that the day of shooting was also one of the most intense days of our lives.
Ultimately, the thought remains: The experience alone was definitely worth it! I have to admit I got a taste for it. I would go back in a heartbeat!
→ There are flashers here to buy.
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