Incapacity employee Storm Menzies, founding father of accessible make-up instruments startup ByStorm Magnificence has received the Kickstarter Problem, taking dwelling $30,000 in equity-free funding.
4 runners-up additionally took dwelling $7,500 for his or her startups following the grand ultimate at Parliament Home in Canberra in the present day.
The five-year-old Kickstarter Challenge, developed by Enterprising ME and run together with The Council of Small Enterprise Organisations Australia (COSBOA), is a federal government-funded program supporting girls to pursue entrepreneurship.
Menzies, from Newcastle, was on stage at Sydney’s City Corridor final week pitching as a part of incapacity accelerator Remarkable’s Tech Summit and Demo Day.
She was additionally a part of the College of Newcastle’s 2024 I2N accelerator program.
4 months in the past, Menzies teamed up with Celeste Barber, founding father of Booie Beauty to launch ByStorm’s products on the comic’s on-line make-up retailer.
Menzies, who has restricted operate in her proper hand following a stroke at beginning, realised “simply how inaccessible the wonder world was” after injuring her dominant hand in 2023 and launched ByStorm. In true startup fashion, created the preliminary designs and prototypes for her silicone snap-on grips for magnificence merchandise in her storage.
Storm Menzies along with her Kickstarter Problem cheque
“ByStorm’s dedication to inclusivity goes past practical merchandise; it’s about igniting a cultural shift inside the magnificence business to worth variety and problem long-standing norms,” she stated.
“On the coronary heart of ByStorm is the imaginative and prescient of a magnificence business the place nobody is sidelined.”
Menzies stated successful the Kickstarter Problem would assist take her enterprise to the subsequent stage, together with using individuals with incapacity to make sure the model continues to be formed by the group.
“This isn’t only a win for Bystorm, it’s a sign to the whole business that disability-led innovation is worthy of funding, that folks with incapacity are worthy of funding past charity,” she stated.
“Once we again underrepresented founders and communities, we don’t simply tick containers. We shift the usual for the business and provides illustration for each little woman watching, of what’s doable.
“Actual inclusion begins once we cease treating accessibility as compliance and begin seeing it as the way forward for enterprise.”
Runners-up funded
The 4 runners-up, from throughout 5 classes, who additionally scored $7,500 every are:
Setting and sustainability: CO2 Lab (Lindy Hua) – an ‘AI sustainability analyst’ making emissions reporting sooner and cheaper for organisations.
Margie – one of many magnificence aids from ByStorm Magnificence.
Schooling: Elevated Educators (Lisa Cohen & Lianne Kady) – supporting trainer wellbeing and classroom administration by way of sensible, evidence-based instruments together with on-line studying, dwell teaching, and college workshops.
Group influence: PlayPass (Shehara Pillai) – a software to remodel how mother and father uncover actions for kids beneath 5 and assist suppliers join with households.
Expertise: Superstat (Cordelia King) – an AI-powered sports activities analytics platform that robotically turns match footage into superior participant stats and highlights.
Additionally honoured at in the present day’s occasion was 11-year-old Ayla Armanwood, winner of the 2025 Enterprising Woman of the 12 months, for her startup, Grounded Magnificence, turning espresso grounds into physique scrubs and soaps.
Governor-Normal Sam Mostyn introduced the winners and pledged to “take the tales I hear right here throughout the nation”.
“Your ardour, dedication and expertise carry you to this Grand Remaining,” she stated.
“I’ve seen the progress we’ve made once we come collectively and amplify care, and that’s what these tasks search to do. I’ll come again yearly that I’m the Governor-Normal.”
Enterprising ME director Fleur Anderson stated the Kickstarter Problem helped the funding drought for feminine entrepreneurs, in addition to showcasing their potential, and praised Menzies amid ongoing curiosity in this system.
“Her imaginative and prescient and dedication exemplify the energy of feminine entrepreneurs,” she stated.
“The document variety of entries this 12 months sends a robust message: girls are wanting to innovate, to resolve actual issues, and to create significant change.”
The annual Kickstarter Problem is open to girls who’ve a enterprise or entrepreneurial thought, with entries opening mid-year. Particulars here.
- Disclosure: Startup Each day’s sister publication, SmartCompany, backed the Kickstarter Problem and this author was ByStorm Magnificence’s first exterior investor, once we gave Storm $20 in non-dilutive funding after a practise pitch session on the I2N accelerator.
