Melanie Perkins
Co-founder and CEO of Canva, the graphic design platform valued at $26 billion and used by more than 175 million people globally.
Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva, the graphic design platform valued at $26 billion and used by more than 175 million people globally.
Melanie majored in communications, psychology, and commerce at the The University of Western Australia. While there, she also taught graphic design, and it was during this time she noticed that her students struggled with complex design software like Adobe Photoshop.
Perkins dropped out of university to work on her product called Fusion Books in 2009 alongside Cliff Obrecht—who is now her husband.
Fusion Books enabled people to create professional yearbooks without any prior publishing experience. The idea took off, becoming Australia’s largest yearbook company and expanding into France and New Zealand.
▶ In 2010, realizing the startup's potential, the pair moved to Silicon Valley to pitch their new idea, Canva. They faced more than 100 rejections from investors.
▶ In 2012, they secured funding from notable investors, including former Google executive Cameron Adams, who joined as a co-founder.
▶ In 2013, Canva was officially launched in Australia.
▶ By 2018, it had expanded worldwide and achieved unicorn status.
But it wasn't all easy. From having the courage to drop out in pursuit of her idea to fighting through rejections from investors—today, Canva is used by 85% of Fortune 500 companies and is bringing in $2 billion in revenue. 😎
Perkins is now one of the youngest female CEOs of a tech startup valued at over $1 billion. 💫
She has won many awards including:
* Forbes Australia’s 50 Richest People (2024)
* Australian Financial Review Rich List (2023)
* Forbes Top Under 30 of the Decade (2020)
* Forbes 30 Under 30 (2016)
I'm a huge fan of Perkins. What an entrepreneurial journey!
