Missoirs: Diese Frau will den weiblichen Toilettengang revolutionieren

Lena Olvedi, a 45-year-old Berliner, entered the toilette business with no expectations of love letters. However, after users tested her inventions, many left comments in the guest books of the toilets she placed them in. At a music festival, a man even tipped her saying, "I have never waited so short for my wife." Long queues for women's toilets at public venues are not a natural law, but a solvable problem; this is what Olvedi has dedicated herself to with her Missoir GmbH.

For half of humanity, the issue is irrelevant due to lack of concern, while for the other half, it has been a concern for decades. The 45-year-old's urinals for clubs and concert arenas aim to ensure women do not wait as long as men. Her goal is to have a Missoir at every semi-public to public restroom where a urinal exists. "We don't want to be better than men, we just want equal opportunities," Olvedi says.

Converting the decision-makers, often men, such as club owners and concert hall operators, can be achieved by explaining that women also benefit. The turning point came in 2017 at a club where she was stuck in a long queue. She wondered why women did not have urinals. Men have more opportunities due to smaller urinals occupying less space, giving them more opportunities to urinate.

Women, who do not urinate while sitting, have to wait longer, especially when avoiding skin contact with the glasses and using toilet paper or squatting, known as half-squatting. Olvedi calls this "aklobatik." She is not a born entrepreneur. In 2017, she worked as a TV script writer, but one evening, the idea for a woman's urinal struck her.

She had grown up in the Canary Islands, La Palma, and remembers squatting behind a tree during her school commute. Today, she knows it must be a urinal for squatting, as it would be more natural and healthier than squatting. With various ideas, after months of planning and help from someone with technical drawings, she created Missoir, a name reflecting her penchant for wordplay.

The urinal is made of stainless steel, can be installed underground and connected to the sewerage system, has a splash guard, a very fine mesh, and one handrail on each side, with optional partitions. Multiple Missoirs can be placed side by side. Its patent surprised her as she thought it already existed. In 2019, she tested her prototype at festivals and received positive feedback.

She knew her invention was needed. From scriptwriter to entrepreneur, she announced it on TV, feeling "in love." 2019 ended with her so immersed in her startup that she did not notice the outbreak of the coronavirus. Only when a promoter who wanted to use her Missoirs at an exhibition cancelled and asked why, she felt the impact.

Despite the pandemic being detrimental to a business model involving semi-public to public toilets, Olvedi persevered, investing her savings, launching a crowdfunding campaign, and taking a private loan. She is now fully booked with mobile Missoirs in festival seasons 2022 and 2023. "We had the most grateful crowds." These crowds were women, for whom toilet visits were no longer a painful experience.