This week, I found myself back at university - and it gives me a buzz every time!
For the sixth consecutive year, I returned to the University of Exeter Business School as a guest lecturer on the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management programme. Each visit brings a genuine sense of energy and reflection - not just about teaching, but about how far the journey of Beevive Ltd has come.
Photos from March 2020 and January 2026
From Spare Room to Beevive HQ
Beevive began seven years ago following a successful crowdfunding campaign, and thanks to our awesome supporters (many of whom still email us now!), we launched our first product, The Original Bee Revival Kit, in July 2019, with a simple goal: to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators in a fun, innovative, and interactive way.
In the early days, we packed orders from our spare room whilst working full-time jobs. Today, my partner Jake and I operate a countryside production studio with a dedicated team of five, creating keyrings and thousands of high-quality homes for solitary bees across the UK and beyond - all based on years of reading books, research and evidence-based design.
Mental Resilience in Sustainable and Ethical Business
A key theme of my guest lectures is entrepreneurial resilience.
Building any business is demanding, but founding a company rooted in people and planet over profit brings its own challenges. Purpose-led entrepreneurship requires founders to balance ethics, environmental responsibility, and commercial sustainability. It is something I feel deeply passionate about, and it can often be very emotional.
Sharing these realities openly helps students understand what it truly means to build a values-driven company in today’s economic landscape, and what that looks like as a founder.
Design Thinking, Innovation, and the Future of Pollinators
My thanks go to the MSc/MBA team for continuing to invite me back to speak about innovation, design thinking, and the entrepreneurial mindset - and for giving me the platform to explain why pollinators are essential to healthy ecosystems and food systems.
I always dreamt that when I went full-time in Beevive Ltd, I would have more time to teach and visit schools, which I do - and I am usually talking about bees. However, it is always especially inspiring to spend time with the next generation of entrepreneurs and give back where I can!
From left to right: presenting on sustainable growth in the garden industry at Glee; teaching at Sidmouth College; speaking at Karen Brady’s Women in Business and Tech event; and contributing to a Dell Technologies sustainability panel on B Corp certification.
If you would like to see a snapshot from earlier in the journey, the Exeter team recorded a short video four years ago, featuring a much shyer version of me speaking about Beevive and early-stage entrepreneurship 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO7ZV7jPUcg
For enquires about school visits, guest lectures, panel discussions or speaking engagements at corporate events, please get in touch at hello@beevive.co.uk
Buzzing regards,
Faye
Co-Founder of Beevive Ltd
