Starward founder David Vitale has fully bought back the Melbourne whisky brand, returning the business to founder-led after 10 years. Starward Whisky founder David Vitale has fully bought back the Melbourne brand, returning to founder-led ownership more than a decade after Diageo-backed Distill Ventures first invested. “Starward has been supported by Diageo via the Distill Ventures accelerator program since 2015 and their support and belief in the brand has been unwavering,” Vitale said. Vitale went on to say the Distill Ventures backing had been critical to helping Starward scale, likening the past decade to clearing the hardest phase of growth. “It’s been more than 10 years since I last led Starward,” Vitale said in a statement.