Cedar Anderson & Stuart Anderson, co-inventors and leaders in the venture, from Australia, have invented the Flow Hive. Flow Hive is a venture that isn’t directly a learning technology, but it is a new way to educate the public on the way of beekeeping and the importance of the ecosystem. It has revived the bee and honey industry and allows beginning users to gain access to a system that was previously for highly trained individuals. This new system also allows for a wider range of location, as the average consumer was barred by the cost and space that a beehive required to function. Now, this system has opened the doors to cities and suburbs alike. Originally, each Flow Hive system was for sale for $600 US each, and the founders were looking for investors to invest $70 000 US. They currently have $12 481 759 US invested in their company and the amount is still growing.
Cedar & Stuart Anderson were traditional (4th & 3rd generation) beekeepers, whom wanted to bring the world of beekeeping to the average person, by creating a system that doesn’t need to be opened to extract the honey. They worked for 10 years to bring this venture to realization, using skills from their trade. They have a great team, including visual communications specialist, Mirabai Nicholson-McKellar, and marketing & communications specialist, Saadi Allan. In my opinion, their networking and marketing skills are positively working, as they have been tremendously successful with their investment campaign and they have an upgraded system coming out early next year. They were featured in magazines such as Wired Magazine (and many others) and their campaign is currently on Indiegogo which commenced earlier this year, and both have shown positive feedback and support from the bee community and the general public.
As a teacher, I was quite impressed with their drive to achieve their goals and their ability to expand their reach and networking to a global market, especially with such a small team. I have used their videos in my classes to show how the bee populations will change, if people are willing to change their ways, too. Overall, their venture might not be a digital endeavour, but I believe it is still a valuable lesson and venture for teachers and entrepreneurs alike.
