Accessible Makeup Startup Founder Wins Kickstarter Challenge

• Storm Menzies, founder of ByStorm Beauty, won the Kickstarter Challenge and received $30,000
• The Kickstarter Challenge: A government-funded program supporting women entrepreneurs, run by Enterprising ME and COSBOA

Disability worker Storm Menzies, whose accessible makeup tools startup is ByStorm Beauty, has taken out the top prize in the Kickstarter Challenge, securing $30,000 in equity-free funding.

Four runners-up took away an equal share of $7,500 in the final event held in Parliament House in Canberra.

The Kickstarter Challenge is a federal government–funded program that has been in operation for the past five years, run by Enterprising ME in partnership with the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) to support women on their entrepreneurial journey.

Newcastle-based Menzies recently spoke at Remarkable Tech Summit and Demo Day in Sydney and had earlier taken part in the University of Newcastle’s 2024 I2N accelerator.

Earlier this year she partnered with Booie Beauty founder Celeste Barber to sell ByStorm products through Barber’s online store.

After a stroke at birth left her with limited function in her right hand, it wasn't until Menzies injured her dominant hand in 2023 that she became more attuned to the accessibility challenges in the industry.

She went on to create silicone snap-on grips for beauty products, crafting early designs and prototypes in her garage. She says ByStorm will be all about advancing both accessibility and more comprehensive inclusion in the beauty industry.

Storm said the funding would go toward the next stage of business growth, including hiring people with disabilities, ensuring continued community-driven development.

She said her win recognizes the importance of disability-led innovation and reinforces the need to support underrepresented founders. She said meaningful inclusion involves viewing accessibility as an integral part of business innovation, not just about a need for compliance.