Entrepreneur · Beekeeper · Builder
Building Scottish brands across honey, hosting and community — and putting craft, tech and conservation on the same workbench.
I run three companies from a small base outside Edinburgh — each in a different industry, each held to the same standard.
Some entrepreneurs specialise; I'd rather hold a portfolio. A premium honey brand, a digital hosting company and a community beekeeping project don't look like they belong together — but they share the same operating principle. Build something properly, look after the people you work with, and let the quality of the work do the marketing.
I'm hands-on across all three. That means writing code on a Monday, smoking a beehive on a Tuesday, and on the phone to a wholesaler on a Wednesday afternoon. It's not the cleanest path on paper, but it keeps the work honest.
A premium Scottish honey label producing single-source, unblended honey from hives placed across the Scottish countryside. Sold direct and through selected delicatessens.
Web hosting, custom web applications and digital infrastructure for small businesses across the UK. We build the kind of bespoke tooling bigger SaaS platforms can't — properly engineered, properly supported.
A community initiative funded in part by the honey business — getting new beekeepers trained, hives placed in schools and community gardens, and pollinator habitat planted where it matters most.
Shortcuts in product, in code, in the apiary — they always come back to bite. I'd rather start smaller and finish honestly.
I'm not chasing a quick exit. The businesses are built to compound — across the brand, the customer base, and the land we work on.
If a business does well it can afford to be useful to the community around it. The bee project is the most visible version of that, but it's the rule across the lot.
Partnership, press, beekeeping or just a sensible conversation about a business idea — I read every message.
david@donhostmedia.ukBased outside Edinburgh, Scotland.