Michael Ballack used to stand on the green grass of the soccer field week after week. Even today, the ex-soccer player still works with plants, but as an entrepreneur.
The viewers of the “Lion’s Den” were amazed when Michael Ballack stood in front of the investors as a candidate on Monday. The long-standing national soccer player has also been an entrepreneur since the end of his career – and in this episode he presented a new plant fertilizer.
Together with his friend Bernhard Unger (54) and the agricultural scientist Dr. Thomas Hüster (56), Ballack developed the “Lucky Plant” product. A vegan and chemical-free fertilizer. The three referred to it as an “energy drink” for plants.
To prove that the product actually lives up to its claims, Ballack and his two partners took a sip.
The investors are also doing the taste test
“At some point I noticed on football pitches that one of my sons was getting allergic skin irritations,” explained Ballack, adding: “After that I worked intensively on the fertilizers that are used on lawns like this.”
The product was well received by investors. They too joined in “LuckyPlant” the taste test. Ballack and Co. demanded 100,000 euros for 20 percent of the company – and got it. Several offers came in, and the contract went to Ralf Dümmel.
Ballack was very satisfied with the way the pitch went and let the footballer shine through in his conclusion: “We are overwhelmed, we didn’t expect so many offers. That was a win.”