How did 25 creatives from tech company Dell find themselves buzzing around the Beevive office in sunny Devon? We spoke to our co-founder Faye to find out.
This is a story about the power of community and the importance of connection. About how you helped us win a national competition and attract international attention for our bee-saving mission. But let's go back to the bee-ginning…
People-powered prize-winners
We joined the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) to connect with like-minded women and benefit from the organisation's amazing resources. But we never imagined where our membership would take us.
Once a year, the DWEN Dream Tech Contest offers women entrepreneurs the chance to win technology to support their business growth. We entered one quiet lunchtime in 2021 with no expectations. To our surprise, we got through to the next round. Recording our video entry for the judges, we felt a huge responsibility to make you all proud and bring home the prize.
All that video-creating practice promoting our Crowdfunder paid off: we made it to the top five. The final decision went to a public vote. Luckily our community rallied once again, and we won. Faye says, “We're super grateful that people believe in our idea the way we do. To do this together is such a privilege.”
Beevive working with Dell Technologies. credit: Dell Technologies.
The tech we need to save the bees
Our prize comprised of an abundance of Dell technology. We also had an advisor to help us build our dream system around our business goals. Faye says, “Every time I walk into the office I'm like, 'Oh my gosh'. Because we would just never, ever have had access to this.” Now, we have everything we need to work whenever and wherever we want.
“Dell is all about enabling you to work in places that inspire you,” says Faye. “When we do our brainstorming days in the campervan, we have our laptop in front of us and beyond the laptop is the sea.” We can close the gap between tech and nature as we use our tech to protect nature more efficiently.
We've made faster progress on everything from product design to packaging thanks to Dell's support. We've even expanded our team and given them the tech they need to ace their roles.
Beevive goes global
Soon after our win, Dell contacted us again to feature in their Businesses We Love campaign. We were one of only five businesses chosen from around the world, the only one from the UK.
We filmed in LA before the team visited us at Beevive HQ. They swarmed around our office, garden and even our favourite dog-walking spot. Yes, 25 people buzzing around our space was a bit of a squeeze, but Leo the dog lapped up all the extra attention. “He was in his element,” says Faye.
The Dell team were committed to protecting our ethics and telling our story. During their visit, we cultivated a whole new community. “It was such a team feeling,” says Faye.
Check out the videos:
Bee the change
The response to our collaboration has been un-bee-lievable. To date, the advert has had over 5.6 million views on YouTube. Getting the chance to show the people and the passion behind our business has opened so many doors for us. Corporate clients have asked us to teach or gift at their events. And we've been interviewed by the Federation of Small Businesses and Mashable.
But perhaps the biggest changes are less visible. Dell gave us a global platform to help us achieve our mission. We've met talented people from around the world whose support has inspired us to think bigger and act braver. “After all,” says Faye, “The whole point is to raise awareness. Dell has helped us do that.”
We'd like to say thank you once again to you, our community. “With your support, we've been able to boost our small business,” says Faye. And for that, you're the bee's knees.
Email Faye to discuss new projects, ideas and collaborations.
