Hyderabad engineer quits 13-year IT career to build wildlife startup, says ‘Nature is the greatest teacher’, earns Rs 80 lakh annually

For most software professionals, lions, elephants and honey bees have little to do with Monday morning meetings or leadership strategies. Sai Kiran Bhagavatula saw things differently. After spending more than a decade building a career in technology, the Hyderabad-based engineer walked away from the corporate world in 2023 and turned his lifelong fascination with wildlife into an unusual business one that takes lessons from the jungle into the boardroom.

From software offices to the wilderness

Bhagavatula graduated in electronics and communication engineering in 2010 and subsequently worked across Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. He later moved to the US in 2014 to pursue a master's degree in data science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, according to 30 Stades. But wildlife remained a constant presence. Weekends were often spent exploring nature with a DSLR, while his travels eventually took him through national parks in India, the US and Africa. After returning to India, Bhagavatula worked as a senior product manager before finally ending his 13-year IT career in 2023 to launch Wildlife Whisperers. In a separate account published by Humans of Hyderabad, he recalled how his thinking changed over the years. Photography, he realised, should do more than capture beautiful animals; it could tell stories about “ecosystems, survival, and connection”.

What can a lion teach a corporate employee?

The business is built around a surprisingly simple idea: workplace behaviour can be understood through patterns already visible in nature. Bhagavatula points to teamwork among lions, delegation among ants and the way honey bees respond to threats as examples that can be turned into lessons on leadership and collaboration. His programmes combine wildlife experiences with learning and development and behavioural science.


Speaking separately to Telangana Today, Bhagavatula described the idea behind Wildlife Whisperers as an attempt to bridge the corporate and natural worlds, built around the belief that “nature is the greatest teacher”. The concept has also reached mainstream entrepreneurship platforms. Bhagavatula was listed as the founder of Wildlife Whisperers at the TiE Global Summit 2024 in Bengaluru.

How did Bhagavatula earn Rs 80 lakh in its first year?

The career gamble appears to have found a market. According to 30 Stades, the bootstrapped company generated Rs 80 lakh in revenue during its first year. The report said it had worked with companies including Perfetti Van Melle and Siemens Digital, while also holding discussions with businesses in banking, FMCG and manufacturing. Its programmes range from corporate workshops to multi-day wilderness experiences designed around teamwork, resilience and mindfulness.

Turning passion into an unconventional career

Bhagavatula's journey is not simply another story of an engineer quitting technology. What makes it unusual is how he combined two seemingly unrelated worlds rather than abandoning one completely: his understanding of corporate life became part of a business inspired by wildlife. From writing software to watching how animals survive and cooperate, his career has travelled an unlikely route. And with his venture reportedly bringing in Rs 80 lakh in its first year, the gamble suggests that sometimes a useful business lesson can come from well beyond the boardroom.