Cutting Through the Buzz: This Week in the Hive

Today I got that little pop-up:

“You have one of the most-viewed profiles. Add verification to boost trust.”

But trust isn’t built with a badge?

Trust is built when you don’t fold … when you don’t chase easy money or fake validation, and instead choose to build something that actually matters.

That’s where I’m at.

This week I’ve been in full-blown hustle mode, physically producing jars for our first official export to the USA.

Jars made from excess hive material NOT plastic.

Lids that grow bee gardens.

Containers that turn into candles.

A patent pending packaging system designed by nature, not fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, I’ve been co-ordinating honey pickups, label delays, managing pre-orders, and finalizing our first pitch deck for our seed raise… mostly from bed at 6am with coffee and chaos.

This is what startup life looks like when you’re hands-on and heart-first.

And I’ll be honest … it’s scary.

I lost everything during COVID.

Not just money, but confidence.

I stepped into an industry I didn’t fully understand, with optimism and a gutful of belief.

I’ve made mistakes. I’ve oversold before I had the capital. I’ve hired underdogs because I saw potential.

But I’ve learned.

I’ve grown.

And now I’m surrounded by real talent people who cut through emotion and help me see the data, the structure, the path forward.

Still, nothing compares to the moments I almost compromised.

When the noise got loud —

“Can you make it cheaper?”

“Plastic is more scalable.”

“Retail won’t pay that much for honey.”

But then I asked myself…

Why are we okay paying a premium for a plastic-wrapped protein shake, but not for a pure, raw product made by bees in packaging that doesn’t poison the planet?

Why is “cheap” the gold standard, when it’s literally what’s costing us the Earth?

I watch big brands throw millions into plastic, pushing volume over value trying to cover up their environmental mess with campaigns instead of accountability… chasing the dollar whilst seeing the dollar swirl around the drain. 

They can’t turn a profit, and they still call that “success.”

That’s not business.

That’s distraction.

So no — I’m not dropping the price.

I’m not scaling in ways that betray the mission.

I’m building a business with integrity, even if it’s slower, scarier, or less “VC-sexy.”

Because this isn’t just about jars.

It’s about justice.

- Microplastics are now found in every human brain sample tested in 2023.

- We eat a credit card’s worth of plastic every week.

🐝 And pollinators like bees responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat  are in rapid decline. In the U.S. alone, over 48% of honeybee colonies were lost in 2022. NO BEES … NO FOOD people!

I’m not building a brand.

I’m building a resistance.

A purpose-built, pollinator-powered, plastic-free rebellion.

And the people showing up for it now?

The 1% who see it?

They’re everything.

The rest can keep chasing volume.

We’ll be over here, chasing truth.

Repeat after me:

I am hot.

I am real.

I am making a change honey!