About the Company

129 million cats live in 33 million European households – and 60-75% of them are outdoor cats. This means millions of cat owners face dead mice, birds and other "gifts" in their homes every week. 84% of outdoor cat owners receive unwanted prey weekly on average – bringing health risks, nighttime disruptions, and the disgust of cleanup.

Traditional cat flaps are blind – they see nothing, they protect nothing. That's where Flappie comes in. After 5 years of development, we've created the first 100% AI-powered cat flap that recognizes what your cat carries in its mouth with 94% accuracy – and keeps the door locked until the prey is dropped outside. Day and night. In any weather.

Successful Market Validation Without Marketing Budget Over CHF 1 million in preorders – almost entirely without paid marketing. 2800 customers who have paid the full price upfront. 150 beta testers rating us 4.7/5 stars. Mass production starts Q4 2025, with deliveries following immediately. Selected by EWOR, Europe's most exclusive accelerator. Awarded "Top AI Innovation" at CES 2024. All five investors on Switzerland's "Shark Tank" wanted to invest.

🎥 Watch demo videos & customer testimonials

Our Vision: From Prey Detection to a Platform that understands Cats Every passage collects valuable data – 18 times daily per cat. The frontal perspective is crucial: cats instinctively hide their feelings, but their faces reveal subtle changes. Ear position, pupil size, whisker placement – all indicators of wellbeing that humans miss. Our AI learns what's normal for each individual cat and recognizes deviations before they become obvious.

By end of 2025, we'll have collected 3.5 million data points. This foundation enables the 2026 launch of Cat ID – biometric cat recognition without chips, collars, or surgery. A revolution for the 50% of cats that aren't microchipped.

But Cat ID is just the beginning: this data becomes a continuous observer of cat wellbeing. Your app recognizes behavioral changes in your cat.

With a 9-person team and proven business model, we're ready to scale from Swiss success to DACH market leadership.

Company at a Glance

• Market-validated & in-demand: CHF 1 million in preorders without marketing budget – 2800 customers have fully paid for their Flappie. Waitlist growing daily.
• Product-ready & field-tested: After 5 years of development and 1 year of long-term testing with 150 beta customers. 100 pre-production units (DVT) and 50 final test units (PVT) successfully in the field. Mass production starts Q4 2025 – from concept to proven solution.
• Technology leader & award-winning: 94% recognition accuracy day and night. 10+ prototype iterations. Awarded "Top AI Innovation" CES 2024. All 5 investors on Switzerland's Dragon's Den wanted to invest.
• Tested & loved: 150+ customers already using Flappie with 4.7/5 stars. One year of continuous testing with real cat owners successfully completed.
• Data platform & scalability: 18 images per cat daily = 6500 images per year. 3.5 million data points by end of 2025. Patents filed for Cat ID (biometric recognition).
• Team & investors: 9-person expert team, backed by EWOR (0.1% acceptance rate) and business angels from leading Swiss networks.

Benefits for Co-Owners and Investors

As a Flappie co-owner, you're investing in one of the fastest-growing markets of our time – alongside experienced business angels and leading VCs.

The global pet tech market is exploding: From USD 12.7 billion (2024) to projected USD 40 billion by 2030 (GMInsights). Europe is growing even faster at 20.7% annually (Expertmarketresearch). Smart Cat Technology – our segment – leads with 18.6% growth (Mordor Intelligence). Crucial for investors: the market is highly fragmented, no company controls more than 10% market share (Tracxn). This creates massive consolidation and exit opportunities. With 129 million cats in Europe (European Pet Food) and EUR 50+ billion in annual pet spending, the opportunity is huge. 2025 shows the turnaround: +97% growth in European pet tech investments (Tracxn).

👉 Those who invest now benefit from perfect timing: market correction meets explosive growth.

Invest alongside prominent business angels and VCs As one of only 0.1% of startups, Flappie was selected for EWOR's portfolio – chosen from over 35 000 applicants. EWOR isn't an ordinary VC: it's backed by successful founders of unicorns like SumUp, Adjust and ProGlove who pool their capital and expertise. The EWOR investment brought not just money, but access to an elite network of European tech entrepreneurs. Additionally, business angels from BAS Switzerland and SICTIC – the leading Swiss angel networks – trust us. You're investing alongside professionals who know how to turn startups into success stories.

Clear exit strategy in a consolidation-ready market Private equity deals in the pet sector rose 84.6% in 2024 (Capstone Partners), Blackstone bought Rover for USD 2.3 billion (Backstone). Attractive for pet care corporations (Mars Petcare, Nestlé Purina), smart home players (Google, Amazon) or pet tech companies. Comparable exits: Mars bought Pretty Litter for <$1 billion (Bloomberg).

From AI cat flap to scalable data platform With participation certificates, you become co-owner of a category pioneer. We're creating "computer vision cat flaps" as a new product category with massive data advantage. Today: 94% accurate prey detection, CHF 449 hardware sales with strong premium margins (DTC). Tomorrow: Cat ID for all cats, recurring revenue (CHF 6.90/month), over 80% margins in subscription model. The proven hardware-to-SaaS model (see Whoop, Oura) in a CHF 8.5 billion smart pet care market.

Proven traction with top team Product works ✓ Market exists ✓ Customers pay ✓ Production running ✓ – with computer vision expertise (ETH) and business development (HSG), we've taken Flappie from idea to 2800 paying customers. You're investing in a proven 9-person team with an operating business.

We're looking for investors who recognize the opportunity to enter the pet tech market early and shape the future of cat tech with us.

Milestones

Testimonials

"As a cat owner, I immediately recognized Flappie's potential. As an investor, I'm also convinced: hardware is the entry point, data is the future. Every Flappie makes all the others better. This network thinking differentiates products from platforms. The team thinks truly big."

André Passon, Investor, Co-founder of RIMASYS

"The Flappie team brings advanced computer vision knowledge and applies it into the real world. It’s refreshing to see such technical quality in consumer-facing technology."

Dr. Nadim Maamari, Head of Edge AI & Vision Systems at CSEM

"Our little huntress brought fresh-caught mice into our house almost every night. That's why we eagerly awaited Flappie – and it was absolutely worth it! Flappie reliably blocks all entries with prey, and we can finally sleep peacefully again.The highlight: The automatically recorded videos are always a hit in our family chat!"

Mario Laubi, Head of E-Commerce, Import Parfumerie (Flappie Kunde)

Our Vision - Why invest in Flappie?

We're solving today's prey problem – and building the future where we truly understand cats.

Your investment helps us achieve the following goals:

• Market penetration: Rollout to 2800 waiting customers, then scaling to 5-10k units by end of 2026. DACH market leadership is the goal.
• Technology revolution: Launch of Cat ID (2026) – biometric recognition for all cats, not just the 50% with chips. Plus: AI analysis that recognizes behavioral changes before humans notice them.
• Building a data moat: From 3.5 million data points (end of 2025) to 100+ million (2027). Every day makes our pattern recognition more precise – an advantage no one can catch up with.
• International expansion: After DACH dominance, UK follows as Europe's second-largest cat market, then Scandinavia with the highest pet spending per capita.

An investment in Flappie is the opportunity to become part of an extraordinary success story – and actively help shape it.

FAQ

Why did you choose crowdinvesting for financing?

Crowdinvesting enables us to build an engaged community of investors who act as multipliers for our brand. Every investor becomes a brand ambassador -- regardless of whether they own cats themselves. Through crowdinvesting, we're creating a community of co-owners who share our vision and actively contribute to our success.

At the same time, we're democratizing access to a unique investment opportunity in the booming pet tech market – normally reserved for institutional investors only.

How did you arrive at the company valuation?

The CHF 4.8 million valuation is based on multiple industry-standard valuation methods for early-stage startups with strong traction (Swipesum) – and is exceptionally attractive for investors:

Why this valuation is a bargain:

• Series A startups typically trade at 3x-10x revenue multiples
• AI startups achieve average 25-30x revenue multiples
• pet tech companies are growing 20.7% annually in Europe
• Flappie: Only 4x-5x multiple (CHF 4.8M ÷ CHF 1.0M preorders)

Comparable exits show the potential:

• Mars bought Pretty Litter for <$1B (with far less innovation)
• SureFlap sold for £100M – with chip recognition only

Our conservative valuation means:

• massive upside potential for early investors
• proven traction (2800 paying customers) already priced in
• future innovations (Cat ID, behavioral insights) NOT yet included
• at comparable tech multiples, we'd already be worth CHF 15-20M today

Do I receive voting rights?

No, crowdinvesting is done through participation certificates without voting rights. This allows us as the founding team to react quickly and agilely to market opportunities – essential in the dynamic pet tech industry. Your economic rights remain fully protected.

Do I receive dividends?

No dividend payments are currently planned. We reinvest all profits into growth, product development and international expansion. Financial gains for investors come through value appreciation and a successful exit – the proven model of successful tech startups.

Is an exit planned?

The pet tech market is consolidating rapidly – M&A deals rose 84.6% in 2024 (Crunchbase). Strategic buyers like Mars Petcare, Nestlé Purina or tech giants are actively seeking innovative targets. With our unique data advantage and clear path to recurring revenue, we're what strategic buyers are looking for. A realistic exit timeframe is 3-5 years after achieving DACH market leadership.

What distinguishes Flappie from other cat flaps?

The evolution of cat flaps:

• Regular flaps: any animal can enter – no control
• Chip flaps: only your cat gets in – but with prey
• Flaps with prey detection: the newest generation – finally no prey in the house

Flappie goes a crucial step further: While others solve prey detection purely functionally, we understood: Cat owners want more than just "mouse detected”. They want to see their cat, understand it, feel a connection.

Our unique computer vision technology:

• Frontal perspective: we look the cat in the face – others film from below
• Emotional videos: cute cat faces instead of technical scans
• Future-ready data: facial expressions, behaviors – everything captured
• Higher margins: no expensive chip readers needed – pure computer vision

Cat ID – The future without chips (in development): Why is Cat ID better than microchips?

• No surgery needed: chips must be implanted by a vet
• No costs: chipping costs CHF 50-100 per cat
• Works for all cats: 50% of cats aren't chipped
• Natural recognition: like Face ID on your iPhone – just walk through

The Flappie advantage: We don't just solve the prey problem. We create an emotional connection between humans and cats – while collecting unique data nobody else has. This combination makes us the ultimate platform for analyzing cat wellbeing.

What are the biggest risks?

Like any hardware startup, we face production and quality risks. We minimize these through experienced production partners and 150+ beta testers. Market risks are largely validated by CHF 1M in preorders. We address technology risks through continuous innovation and patent protection.

How will you use the capital specifically?

• COGS (29%): materials and components for 5-10k additional units
• Payroll (28%): core team plus computer vision engineers for Cat ID
• R&D (26%): production optimization and Cat ID finalization
• Marketing & Growth (18%): building the subscription pipeline and DACH expansion

When do you expect profitability?

We're profitable from year one with CHF 276k EBITDA. After strategic investment in 2027 for the subscription launch, EBITDA scales continuously to CHF 6.3M by 2030.

What are participation certificates?

Participation certificates are securities that give you economic rights in the company – similar to shares but without voting rights. You benefit fully from value appreciation and receive your proportional share of proceeds in an exit.

Are there provisions for a sale (tag-along/drag-along rights)?

Yes, to protect all parties. Tag-along rights ensure you can sell alongside major shareholders. Drag-along obligations ensure that in a majority sale, all investors sell at the same terms – no one can block an exit.

How is liquidation preference structured?

The participation certificates have no special liquidation preference – all investors are treated equally. In an exit, you receive your proportional share of proceeds based on your ownership percentage. This fair model shows our confidence in Flappie's value appreciation potential.

Why not traditional venture capital?

EWOR, one of Europe's most selective VCs, has already invested in us (numerous business angels). For the current phase, we deliberately choose crowdinvesting – for good reason.

Crowdinvesting is the smarter path for consumer hardware:

• Community = competitive advantage: hundreds of investors become brand ambassadors. For B2C products, that's priceless
• Perfect timing: we're about to start mass deliveries – the ideal moment to engage the community
• Validation for VCs: a successful crowd campaign proves market demand better than any pitch deck
• Bridge to seed round: with this capital, we reach the milestones VCs want to see for larger rounds

Strategic capital path:

1. Now: Crowdinvesting → build community, 5-10k additional units
2. 2026/27: Seed round with first ARR metrics → CHF 3-5M for scaling
3. 2028: Series A or strategic exit → maximum return for all investors

The best of both worlds: We combine the advantages of venture capital (EWOR as strategic partner) with the power of the crowd (community and brand ambassadors). This is the optimal financing strategy for a B2C hardware startup.

What's the minimum investment amount?

The minimum amount is CHF 480, to enable as many cat lovers as possible to participate. There's no upper limit – some investors have already committed five-figure amounts.

Today we're solving the prey problem. Tomorrow we're revolutionizing how 129 million European cats are understood. Be part of turning a Swiss innovation into the global reference.