Missoirs: Diese Frau will den weiblichen Toilettengang revolutionieren

Lena Olvedi, a 45-year-old Berliner, entered the toilet business with no intention of sparking romance. However, after her creations were tested by users, many female patrons took to leaving love letters in the guest books located beside the toilets. At a music festival, a man even tipped her with words that read: "I have never waited so impatiently for my wife."

Long queues for female toilets, similar to delayed trains, are not a natural law but a solvable problem; this is where Olvedi's Missoir GmbH comes in. For half of humanity, the issue may seem irrelevant due to lack of concern, while the other half has endured it for decades. The 45-year-old's urinals aim to ensure women no longer have to wait as long as men at clubs and concert arenas.

Her goal is to have a Missoir in every half-public and public restroom. "We don't want to be better than men; we just want equal opportunities," Olvedi says. Convincing decision-makers, often men such as club owners and concert arena managers, can be done by explaining that women benefit from the invention too. The turning point for Olvedi began in 2017 at a club.

She wondered, "Why doesn't a restroom exist for us?" Men have more opportunities because male urinals take up less space and require less time compared to women who urinate while seated. Olvedi calls this "Aklobatik," and she is not naturally an entrepreneur. In 2017, she worked as a television scriptwriter, but one evening, she thought about a female urinal prototype.

Growing up on the Canary Island La Palma, she remembers using the "full squat" when she had to relieve herself away from home. This led her to realize that a urinal for such situations was necessary and more natural and healthier than squatting. With Trennwände (divider walls) as needed, the Missoir is made of stainless steel, can be installed underground with a connection to the sewage system, has a splash guard, a very dense mesh, two handrails on the left and right sides, and optionally Trennwände (divider walls).

Multiple Missoirs can be placed side by side. The patent surprised her, as she thought such a thing already existed. In 2019, she tested her prototype at festivals, receiving positive feedback. She states, "I had poop in my eyes." For her, it is clear that her invention is needed. From scriptwriter to entrepreneur, Olvedi announced her plans on television, feeling "like a lover."

2019 was the year she got lost in her startup that she didn't notice a virus named Corona roaming around. Only when a venue that had planned to use her Missoirs at a fair canceled and asked why, she realized the impact of the pandemic on her business. Despite the pandemic, Olvedi continues to invest her savings, starts a crowdfunding campaign, and takes out a private loan.

She is now fully booked with mobile Missoirs in festival seasons 2022 and 2023. "The blizzards were the most thankful ones." These blizzards were women who finally no longer had to endure the discomfort of waiting for a toilet at a festival.