The former professional footballer knows the phenomenon all too well: Before matches, everyone has to go one last time. Nerves, adrenaline, and suddenly 30 to 40 players and staff are queuing in front of a maximum of three or four toilets. What follows are situations that are rarely talked about, but that everyone knows. Unpleasant smells included. Giuseppe Leo, founder of Bellaria explains in our Videocast Pitch & People:
Pitch & People Episodes
PITCH & PEOPLE Episode 19: Bellaria
"You always have to go to the toilet before games. That's just natural when you're excited."
And it was precisely these smells that gave the 31-year-old an idea. Leo spent thirteen years in the youth teams of FC Bayern Munich and later played for FC Ingolstadt in the second division and, for a time, in the first division. Competitive sports shaped his daily life, including the same routines before matches. Because while everyone else just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, Leo began to think.
From toilet to business idea
The idea for the Aircube, the core product of his startup BellariaIt originated during his active football career, while traveling, in changing rooms, in the everyday life of professional sports. Again and again the same situations, again and again the same question Leo asked himself:
"We fly to the moon, we develop artificial intelligence, but for everyday things like sitting on toilets, there is still no solution."
When play was suspended during the Corona pandemic, Leo suddenly had time on his hands. Instead of waiting, he began to experiment. Without any technical expertise, using parts from the hardware store and a vacuum cleaner filter, he built his first prototype. Not perfect, but functional enough to keep him thinking about it.
Giuseppe Leo (born January 30, 1995, in Munich) is a German-Italian entrepreneur and founder of Bellaria Technology GmbH, the startup behind the Air Cube toilet odor neutralizer. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Leo was a professional footballer: He began his career in the youth academy of FC Bayern Munich, reaching the reserve team, and later played for FC Ingolstadt's first team in the Bundesliga and for Karlsruher SC in the 3. Liga. He then moved abroad to FC Aarau in the Swiss Challenge League. A torn cruciate ligament ended his active football career prematurely.
Starting a business alone, risking everything
Leo founded Bellaria on his own. Not because he necessarily wanted to, but because no one in his circle was thinking about startups. Football was the focus, not entrepreneurship. So he went it alone, investing all his savings from his football career into the idea and consciously choosing to take the full risk.
He only sought support later: through intensive independent research and finally through an engineer from Berlin with whom he further developed the technology. Step by step, this led to the creation of today's Aircube.
How the Aircube works
The Aircube is attached directly to the toilet. During use, the battery-powered device immediately extracts any odors and neutralizes them inside using a patented filter system, before they can spread throughout the room.
"Theoretically, one could sit on the toilet with the door open and nobody would notice."
After using the toilet, the interior is also ionized and cleaned. For Leo, the odor neutralization is the decisive added value and the main reason why customers choose the product.
The breakthrough on "The Lion's Den"
The major turning point came with his appearance on "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den). Leo secured a deal with Karsten Maschmeyer: €200,000 for 15 percent. Crucially, the capital was less important to him than the sparring partner. He wanted someone with experience, someone he could trust, someone who could provide input without taking control away from him.
The plan worked. After the broadcast, Bellaria sold out within seven minutes. In the first 40 days, over 9,000 orders were received. The sole founder grew into a four-person team that has since focused on growth, supply chains, and customer service.
The vision
Toilets aren't exactly a glamorous topic. Leo knows that. But that's precisely where he sees the opportunity. Little competition, a universal problem, and a market that has seen little innovation so far.
His vision: Bellaria products should become standard in restrooms, both private and public. With the planned Airseat, a version of the technology integrated into the toilet seat, he aims to further expand this ambition.
