Changing the World One Innovation at a Time: Raina Jain‘s Hive Guard

By Jody Bell

Raina walked amongst the vivid green of the bee farm she was visiting. Entranced by the beauty of the space, she followed the beekeeper to the hives, and what she saw shocked her. Bees, thousands of them, being tossed out of the hive lifeless into a pile of an entire dead colony. What these beekeepers called a regular clean out left a pit inside of her stomach. 

That one pivotal moment from high school sparked something inside Raina. Now, years later, she has invented Hive Guard and founded Queen Bee; both of which are aimed at supporting bee populations as crucial members of our ecosystem. Her entrepreneurial work aiming to save the bees has since been featured in Forbes, Bee Culture magazine, and she’s received $100,000 in funding as a Thiel Fellow. As a scientist, she was one of forty nationally selected students in the 2020 Regeneron Science Talent Search, received first place and best in category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and even received a minor planet in her name by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. 

But how do you channel one instantaneous moment of passion into innovation that can change the world? How do you sustain that moment of passion to persevere through the immense drawbacks and obstacles that entrepreneurs inevitably face? Well, to understand that, you have to understand Raina Jain.

Raina grew up in Connecticut to immigrant parents who she credits for her unshakeable mindset. She recalled hearing a conversation between her parents and family friends one night – her dad said  “we’ve come from nothing and we have worked so hard to get here. We built a platform for our kids to take this life to the next level.” This singular conversation continues to guide the trajectory of Raina’s life. Legacy, and making the absolute most out of the life that her parents have provided for her, is why she would never dream anything miniscule. It’s why she pushes herself and refuses to be discouraged. 

In high school she wasn’t always a straight A student. She describes feeling constrained by grades at times – her innovative mindset wasn’t always favored in an academic environment. Yet, once she found and discovered Girls With Impact at 16 she found a pocket of learning that did naturally complement her driven and imaginative mindset. Additionally, she realized that she wasn’t alone. She uncovered a beautiful network of emerging, young, female entrepreneurs who had dreams as big as hers. 

It was during this time that she visited the bee farm and saw these piles of bee carcasses. She was raised with a “live let live” mentality and couldn’t fathom the death and consequences of the shrinking bee population. So she got to work. 
She discovered that Varroa mites are to blame for exorbitantly high death tolls in hives. The mites attach to bees and affect their physical well-being and reproduction; within 3-4 years of infestation, entire colonies could die. She spent 2 years reading, researching and testing different products. After repeated failure she founded HiveGaurd, which harnesses thymol gel – a naturally occurring pesticide that can kill the mites without harming the bees. 

But then COVID-19 hit. In the middle of testing Raina’s lab in was shut down, and some of the products used in testing were now facing supply limits as they were being used in the fight against COVID. After 2 years of all consuming passion, she had to step back. 

During this period, she was forced to think about other ways she could help the bees without direct involvement. As she did, she realized that this feeling of helplessness was somewhat universal; there were thousands of everyday people who wanted to help bees, but they themselves were not beekeepers or scientists. How do we harness that passion? How do we equip everyday people with the ability to help bees?

This was the basis of Raina’s second venture – Queen Bee. She grew up drinking ginger and turmeric shots that her mother made and as she grew older she began to mix honey with these shots for the taste. She envisioned a product that delivers good tasting wellness products that also funds efforts to save the bees. So, she commercialized these ginger and turmeric shots with royal jelly and partnered with Trees for the Future – an organization in Sub-Saharan Africa that teaches equips people with agricultural skills to sew the seeds for biodiversity. Not only do these pollinator trees directly aid the bee population, but it provides stable income for farmers and their families. She spent weeks trying to get various retail stores to shelve her product, and finally was able to partner with Whole Foods. 

As she founded this initiative, it’s mission shifted and grew; what was initially just a channel to help everyday people support bees became a way to prove that sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive. As her reach grew, she realized that “for profit businesses with non profit mindsets are one of the best business approaches. Entrepreneurs desperate to keep their vision afloat, mixed with changemakers desperate to change the world – if you combine the two you’re unstoppable.” 

Now, HiveGaurd is officially patented and is a small device in the entrance of a hive that deposits small amounts of thymol – protecting the bees within the hive with little beekeeper involvement. The innovation went viral throughout the beekeeping community, and consumers are lined up and awaiting the product. As for Queen Bee, the product will be in hundreds of Whole Foods branches over the next 2-3 months. 

As for Raina? Well this is just the start of her journey.

Even as the CEO of multiple ventures, her next steps are guided and inspired by her parents and the conversation she overheard so many years ago. Their hard work and devotion lead to an entirely different life for her, and she wants each and every creation to do just that for future generations. She won’t stop further innovating her current ventures or halting in building more until she knows that her work will benefit our collective future. She wants to build systems that can exist to add value for the world long after she’s gone. 

When asked about what advice she would give to budding entrepreneurs, her answer was painstakingly honest; “Me saying a few sentences won’t fight the main obstacle for young entrepreneurs – which is self doubt. No one is coming to save you, it’s just yourself and your motivation. That’s entrepreneurship – it is a good thing but a bad thing.” 

Entrepreneurship is lonely, and the only constant is your own passion. Raina’s story is that of obstacles, perseverance, and so much passion she was often drowning in it. As daunting as that may sound, that is the true life of an entrepreneur who will change the world. 

Jody Bell, 20 is Girls With Impact’s Editor in Chief and a program graduate from Greenwich High School. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, business and leadership program for girls 14-24, turning them into tomorrow’s leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators.