It’s a dream come true for any student in college, especially for those with the vision of owning their own business: The Bee Corp.

Going into almost their third year as an official benefit corporation, The Bee Corp began solely as a school project. After current CEO, Ellie Symes, spent her summer internship of 2013 with a beekeeper, she said she was inspired. Symes returned to school and applied for a grant to create the first student created and maintained beehives at Indiana University.

“When I first bee-kept, I was obviously fascinated by the creatures but they also came with this issue, that they’ve been dying off and they’re very essential to our food system,” Symes said.

Credit: The Bee Corp

Credit: The Bee Corp

Credit: The Bee Corp

Credit: The Bee Corp

A year later, Symes pitched a beekeeping project through the Kelly School of Business as a business consulting assignment. There were two very interested students were listening to Syme’s presentation, Wyatt Wells and Simon Kuntz.

From there, the three of them went on to establish The Beekeeping Club at Indiana University which ended up being a success. From there, with the vision to maintain the lives of the bees and help beekeepers collect data, the group submitted a business plan to IU’s 2016 “Building Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology” competition. They received a $100,000 investment, thus establishing The Bee Corp on February 25, 2016.

Ellie Symes, Wyatt Wells and Simon Kuntz never imagined they would become beekeepers, let alone establish a career out of helping other beekeepers. The group now develops beekeeping technology meant to help sustain the lives of the bees.

Credit: The Bee Corp

Credit: The Bee Corp

Credit: The Bee Corp

“We help beekeepers improve their tools to manage their hives,” Symes said. “So they can combat against hive loss and have a better awareness of what’s going on inside their hives while they’re not there.”

Beekeepers across Indiana use The Bee Corp’s “Queens Guard” temperature tracking system –a hive theft tracking system. Each of these uses sensors to collect data to be monitored and analyzed. Since their inception, The Bee Corp has been featured in various publications and business reports including Forbes, The Indianapolis Business Journal, Inside Indiana Business, and more.

“Two years out of college and I’m running my own company. I’ve got two employees,” Wyatt Wells, founder and Chief of Marketing said. “So definitely never thought I would be here, especially with the bees. I never would have thought I would be a beekeeper too.”

Wells says it’s been an amazing experience to be able to develop their own business, set their own standards, and follow their own values. He says they plan on launching a new product in February of 2019 for the pollination season and to continue their mission to help beekeepers minimize hive loss.

During the colder months of the year, The Bee Corp works on winterizing the hives while the bees try to keep their queen warm. However, this doesn’t mean they get to take a break. Beekeepers are gearing up for pollination season. The Bee Corp features more details about the lifecycle of bees and beekeeping on their blog.

The Bee Corp is currently run by Ellie Symes and Wyatt Wells, as Simon Kuntz is no longer with the benefit corporation. In addition, the business has two data scientists, Gleb Alexeev and Gretchen Riggs and The Bee Corp is backed by a board of directors. The Bee Corp also offers internship positions to students interested in the field.

For more information about The Bee Corp and their upcoming projects, visit their website.