The Governor General awarded the 2024 Kickstarter Challenge winner yesterday at Parliament House. The Kickstarter Challenge is an initiative of the Accelerator for Enterprising Women, which aims to help more Australian women start businesses.
This year’s winner was Rosie Dumbrell, who pitched her medical compression system for women’s pelvic-floor health, Everform. After a panel of expert judges named her winner, Dumbrell received $30,000 in equity-free funding to kickstart her fledgling business.
The physiotherapist developed her line of supportive shorts and leggings after she discovered a gap in the market for effective shapewear products designed for women with pelvic floor complaints. Everform’s products contain an inbuilt invisible support sling for women suffering incontinence, prolapse, pelvic pain, and other common ailments of pregnancy and early postpartum.
“We know that 200 million women suffer from incontinence globally, yet 65 per cent do not seek treatment,” Dumbrell said.
“Cost, embarrassment, fear of surgery, cultural reasons and failing to prioritise themselves are all factors that play into this. Current treatment options are expensive, invasive, inaccessible, or ineffective.”
Before launching her business, Dumbrell says she spent years testing the products on women across all life stages, and conducted a pilot study through Swinbourne university.
The entrepreneur says she will use the prize money on scaling up her marketing and attracting additional investment.
Helping women pursue their business dreams
Only a small fraction of start-up founders – between 22 and 36 per cent – are women, a number that the Accelerator for Enterprising Women is on a mission to increase.
“In 2023, start-ups founded by women secured just 4 per cent of the $3.5 billion start-up funding,” said Accelerator spokesperson Fleur Anderson.
“We know a rising number of women have a desire to create and grow a career in entrepreneurship, but too often lack the confidence and ability to access the funding they need.
“Kickstarter is helping to give these women a platform to showcase their idea to the world and unlock the untapped entrepreneurial potential across Australia.”
