Tinus
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Tinus was a Munich hardware startup founded in 2020 by Technical University of Munich graduates Simon Greschl and Jaqueline Schaupp. It built the Tinus One, a sound pillow for people with tinnitus or sleep disorders: patent-pending technology transmitted music, sounds and frequencies through the pillow so only the sleeper could hear them. The pillow was priced around 800 euros (about $850).
02 / Tinus FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
The company collapsed under manufacturing economics. After recording its TV pitch, production costs exploded, component procurement and delivery suffered long delays, and cost-covering production became impossible. The founders had sold fewer than 100 pillows by August 2022 — hitting the agreed sales target was a condition for investors to keep financing the startup — and with financing problems mounting, Tinus filed for insolvency in September 2022 and ceased operations in April 2023.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Simon Greschl and Jaqueline Schaupp, who met while studying at the Technical University of Munich, found Tinus in September 2020 to build a sound pillow for tinnitus sufferers, after investing about a year and a half in development.
- TV pitch recorded
The founders record a pitch for the German startup TV show Die Höhle der Löwen, asking for 350,000 euros (about $370,000) for 10 percent of the company at a pillow price of around 800 euros.
- Insolvency
With production costs exploded, deliveries delayed and fewer than 100 pillows sold, Tinus files for insolvency at the district court in September 2022; the company goes bankrupt before its TV episode is even broadcast.
- Shutdown
Tinus ceases operations in April 2023; both founders take new jobs.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Tinus filed for insolvency at the Munich district court in September 2022 after financing problems made continued operation impossible.
- 02
The company ceased operations in April 2023; founders Simon Greschl and Jaqueline Schaupp moved on to new jobs.