This mechanical engineer quit high-paying job to rescue bees - Now clocks Rs. 65 Lakh annual turnover

After completing his Mechanical Engineering degree, Amit Godse was working at a software company for about 5 years in Mumbai. He used to spend the weekends in his Pune residence. Once in that housing society, on a summer afternoon in 2014, a pest control company was hired to eradicate a large beehive in the compound. Amit saw hundreds of dead honeybees after the pest control team left.

This incident affected him terribly. He knew honeybees are important for pollination and thus play a key role in agriculture.

“This one incident dug an impression in my heart,” the techie-turned entrepreneur shared in an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia. “Everyone wants honey and no one wants bees!” he said bitterly.

Born in Raipur, Amit grew up in five different states as his father had a transferable job. He had always loved the countryside and nature. After witnessing the death of a hive full of bees, he realised someone must take action to protect the bees, or the entire ecosystem would fail because of selfish human ways. 

Techie turns bee rescuer

With a strong intention to protect the honeybees, Amit began studying them at various institutes around the country.

“But the big problem was institutes teach you to become a beekeeper, and I was trying to become a bee rescuer, which is a totally different thing!” Amit told Startup Pedia. 

So, Amit took matters into his hands and started staying in various tribal hamlets to deeply understand the bees. And then he started rescuing bees with whatever he learnt about honeybees.

“I learned through hands-on experience!” the former techie revealed.

As Amit left his high-paying job to become a bee rescuer, his parents were initially disheartened. They discouraged him, saying it was not the right profession for an educated individual.

Amit founded Bee Basket in Pune in 2016. 

About Bee Basket

Now, a team of 9 bee rescuers, Amit Godse’s small business firm Bee Basket, rescues wild as well as domesticated honeybees from Pune and Mumbai, relocating them to an open area.

“Till now, we have rescued more than 17000+ beehives,” claimed the Pune Bee Man. “There could be 50,000 bees on average in any bee colony. So, you can understand how many bees we have saved till now through this initiative”, he added.

Usually, people contact Bee Basket after noticing a beehive in their residential or office property.

“We got popular through social media,” Amit admitted. 

Social media and word-of-mouth publicity made people contact the bee rescuing firm whenever they needed to eradicate bees.

“Earlier, people knew only one solution to control bees, Amit shared with Startup Pedia. “They used to contact the pest control to kill honeybees. But now people are more aware after seeing our work. They contact us and we relocate the honeybees depending on the species.”

Wise alternative to killing bees

The bee rescuer shared that many individuals do not want to kill the bees, but they did not have any other choice earlier. Now, through campaigns, seminars to students and corporates, Amit Godse is promoting the utility of protecting honeybees and how we can relocate instead of killing them.

The SMB Bee Basket rescues bees and relocates them to farms to help farming by aiding the breeding process and pollination.

PM Modi praised the bee rescuing business in Man ki Baat on 25th May, 2025.

Currently, Amit aspires to scale the model across Maharashtra.

“Our ultimate motive is that not a single bee should be killed by bee hunters,” said Pune’s Bee Man. “We want all bees should be rescued by trained bee rescuers only.”

The Pune bee rescuing firm provides complete training before a bee rescuer starts working.

Bee rescuing

Amit Godse explained that in India, there are 6 species of honeybees, of which 3 are not domesticated varieties. So, you can’t keep these inside a bee box because they make the hive under the sun.

Other species make the hive in the dark, so those can be kept inside a box.

“This is why handling each honeybee species is done differently,” the Bee Basket owner told Startup Pedia.

Apis dorsata, or the rock bees, are found in tall buildings, under a water tank, or on a tall tree. People are very scared of these bees.

“You can’t relocate these, disclosed Amit. “We cut the hive, put petroleum jelly over there and use some organic smoke like coconut shell smoke in limited quantity to calm down the bees so that they don’t live there and relocate within 8 days. It gives them the message that it is unsafe, and so they move themselves. By this process, 99% bees can be saved!”

Apis florea (red dwarf honeybee) builds palm-sized hives in lower places.

“We tie a bamboo clip on the hive when half of the bees are outside for foraging and half are inside,” shared Amit. “In the night, all bees will come inside the hive, which we place inside a carton box, and we relocate it to an open space in the wild, which could be a tree branch.”

Stingless bees make hives in the darkness inside the almirah, or electric boards. 

“Among all bees, stingless ones are the best species for pollination,” shared the bee rescuer.

Pune's Bee Basket functions in a number of ways. Other than rescuing bees, they also supply bees to farmers who need them for pollination. The SMB also yields honey and other byproducts of bees, such as wax and jelly from the bees, which they sell to customers.

Other than all of that, the bee rescuing firm builds honeybee parks and butterfly parks in corporate houses on request. For the honeybee park, they use the stingless variety.

When asked about the danger that comes with this profession, Amit claimed that, on average, a beekeeper's and a bee rescuer’s life is 7 years longer than an ordinary individual because the occasional bee sting boosts immunity.

“Obviously, our team uses protection!” the bee rescue firm owner said. “Our eyes, ears, nose, and lips are the most sensitive parts that have to be protected, though. So, we wear protective gear to minimise bee stings.”

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Charges for the bee rescuing service and other details

The charges to rescue bees are the same as a pest control company would charge to kill the animals. 

“So, it is wise to contact us for rescuing the beneficial insects!” said Amit Godse.

Bee Basket charges around Rs. 1500 - Rs. 3000 for rescuing bees, depending on the species.

The Pune Bee Man also shared that the equipment needed varies according to the species of bees.

Each equipment costs around Rs. 10,000, and the jelly they use to remove wild varieties costs around Rs. 400/kg

The rescuing process can take around 30 min - 2 hrs, again depending on the species.

“I provide a monthly salary to rescuers, plus there are travelling costs, equipment costs, etc., so there are costs to be borne,” Bee Basket's Amit shared with Startup Pedia.

In a few instances, some Ministers have also contacted the firm to rescue the bees from their garden and remove the hive.

Challenges

Amit Godse said the main challenge they face is the impatience of urban people. Sometimes, even after using the tactics, a few wild bees would not leave the premises and hover around. People do not like that and contact a pest control company.

Investment, turnover & profits

The Bee Basket owner invested around Rs. 3 Lakhs from own savings to launch the business.

Its annual turnover for FY2025 was Rs. 65 Lakh. 

“Ours is a small but profitable venture,” said Bee Basket’s Amit Godse. 

Last year, they generated 35% profit. Daily, they receive around 20/25 calls. In summer, there are frequent calls for bee eradication.

Awards and recognitions

Pune's 'Bee Man' Amit Godse received awards for bee rescuing work from the State and Central government.

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