INVESTORS RUSH TO ‘BEAUTY WITH SUBSTANCE’

BEAUTY mogul Anna Ross has set several crowd-funding records after raising $2.167m for her ethical makeup and nail polish company Kester Black.

Ms Ross, who started her beauty business with just $50 to her name, has completed the largest crowd-funding raise by a female-led business in 2021, and it‘s also the second-highest raise in Australia for a female-led company ever, behind female-friendly ridesharing service Shebah.

The raise was the fourthlargest equity crowd-funding raise this year, just behind Thrive, Coinstash, Unhedged, and the second-largest round on Birchal ever by number of investors (1687), outstripping Bubble Tea Club (1399) and

I started the company … to change the world Anna Ross

Seabin project (1685). Shebah had 2000 investors in its first raise.

Kester Black investors bought a stake in the company for as little as $250.

“I started this company not to make money but to change the world, and this support by everyday investors proves there is real demand for beauty with substance,” Ms Ross said.

“My goal is to raise industry standards for beauty brands across the globe and each one of my investors will now also become champions for our company’s cause.”

Ms Ross has nine staff members and sells vegan makeup to customers in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Kester Black’s rampant success is all down to the popularity of ethical beauty, according to Ms Ross, who said it was the first beauty brand in the world to be awarded a B-Corp certification. Its nail polishes and treatments, eyeliners and lipsticks are all vegan and cruelty-free.

“Covid has seen a seismic shift and amplified self-care,” she said. “With so many things in our life being outside of our control, our beauty ritual is something that we can control.”