Startup · $2m raised
Wānaka
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Kester Black raised.
The transaction that ended Kester Black's run as a startup, per published coverage. It closes the funding history too, where it is the ladder's last rung.
| Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New New New Pty Ltd | Acquisition | Jul 2024 | $146.2k+ | insolvencyinsider-au.com, odt.co.nz (Thu 27 Mar 2025), odt.co.nz (Wed 26 Mar 2025), rnz.co.nz |
Companies Kester Black acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Ross | Founder | insolvencyinsider-au.com, odt.co.nz (Thu 27 Mar 2025), odt.co.nz (Wed 26 Mar 2025), rnz.co.nz |
| Adam Botterill | Liquidator | odt.co.nz (Thu 27 Mar 2025), odt.co.nz (Wed 26 Mar 2025) |
| Damien Grant | Liquidator | odt.co.nz (Thu 27 Mar 2025), odt.co.nz (Wed 26 Mar 2025) |
| Fergus Sully | Sole Director (former) | rnz.co.nz |
Stories naming Kester Black. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Cosmetics label founded by Anna Ross went into administration; its business was sold to a Fergus Sully company, leaving crowdfunding backers with nothing, and the New Zealand arm was liquidated.
Kester Black's parent company entered voluntary administration in July 2024 and its business was sold off; crowd backers from its 2021 raise learned of the insolvency only weeks afterwards.
Birchal's CSF Yearbook 2021 found Australian equity crowdfunding hit record levels in 2021, with $71 million raised across 89 companies, and recalls Biome Australia becoming the first CSF-backed business to join the ASX.
Also Startup Daily
Cut Through Venture's November newsletter rounds up October 2021's record deal count for Australian startups, listing raises across climate, fintech, cybersecurity and legal tech, plus Startmate Demo Day graduates and active investors.
Weekly roundup of ten Australian startup raises totalling $88.18 million, spanning energy traceability, agtech, digital health and packaging, from Enosi's $1.48 million to Packform's $25 million.
Also Cut Through Venture·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·rnz.co.nz·insolvencyinsider-au.com