Did You Know – Melanie Perkins?
Canva has become a global sensation, transforming design from a daunting task into an accessible and enjoyable experience for everyone. Whether you’re crafting eye-catching social media posts, designing polished presentations, or just experimenting with visual content, Canva makes the process effortlessly fun.
But who’s behind this brilliant idea? Meet Melanie Perkins, the visionary founder reshaping the world of design.
Transforming Accessible Design and Social Good
Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva, has revolutionised the design industry while advocating for global social impact only at the age of 26. From humble beginnings in Perth, Australia, Perkins has built Canva into a leading design platform used by millions worldwide, all while keeping accessibility and philanthropy at the forefront of her mission.
Early Life and Inspiration
Born in Perth in 1987, Melanie Perkins displayed a passion for entrepreneurship from a young age. At 14, she started her first business selling handmade scarves, instilling in her an excitement and drive for business. She then went on to study Communications Psychology and Commerce at the University of Western Australia, working part-time as a personal tutor teaching graphic design. It was through these experiences she realised the difficulties many students faced when learning complicated design programmes such as Adobe Photoshop and understood something needed to be done.
Determined to simplify the design process, Perkins, along with her now-husband Cliff Obrecht, launched Fusion Books in 2007. This online platform allowed schools to design their yearbooks for virtually free, harnessing simple and user-friendly design to let students collaborate and create pages and articles themselves. Despite the couple initially possessing minimal coding knowledge, over the five years since its launch Fusion Books rapidly expanded throughout Australia and into New Zealand and France, laying the essential groundwork for their next big software venture – Canva.
The Making of Canva
With the success of Fusion Books fuelling her ambition, Perkins and Obrecht began looking for investors for their next venture. Relentlessly pursuing through every rejection and refining Canva’s concept constantly, in 2011 they finally secured investment from venture capitalist Bill Tai.
Despite now having financial backing, they quickly found struggle in assembling the correct team, pivoting between suitable applicants and delaying production until they decided on Cameron Adams and Dave Hearden – both ex-Google employees – who joined as co-founder and CTO.
Despite initial scepticism from investors due to its Australian origins, Canva launched in 2013 and quickly gained traction thanks to its free-to-use and intuitive platform. The company quickly secured additional investors and won multiple industry awards – such as the 2021 ‘Overall Design Collaboration Company of the Year’, and ranked 3rd on the Forbes ‘Cloud 100’ list. Canva was also declared a global tech unicorn – meaning Perkins’ startup was valued at over $1 billion – a rarity in the startup world!
Today the platform supports over 125 million users in 190 countries and offers services in more than 100 languages, making it easily accessible to individuals and companies alike. It stands valued at $25 billion, securing it as one of the most successful and fast-rising start-ups in history, and making Melanie Perkins one of the richest women in Australia.
A Commitment to Accessibility and Philanthropy
Perkins’ vision extends beyond business, and despite industry and financial success she remains focused on her mission to do as much social good as possible.
“If the whole thing was about building wealth, that would be the most uninspiring thing I could possibly imagine.”
says Melanie.
Aside from the accessible nature of Canva itself – with it being free to use, easily navigated, and globally accessible – Perkins and Obrecht pledged to transfer over 80% of their stake in Canva to the Canva Foundation, aiming to address global challenges such as poverty, and support local communities.
They also ensured educational institutions and nonprofits receive free Canva subscriptions, enabling them to leverage professional design tools without financial or skill set barriers.
At SpringACT we use Canva for many of our designs! With the accessible nature of the design software allowing both our seasoned digital veterans and our newer ACTivists to make engaging multi-platform designs, we raise awareness on domestic violence using Canva. It truly demonstrates the positive social good that accessible digital platforms promote.
Looking to the Future
Melanie Perkins continues to push the boundaries of what Canva can achieve. With a current annual revenue of around $1 billion and a dedicated team of over 3,000 employees, Canva remains at the forefront of design technology. Through Canva, she has not only democratised design but also demonstrated that businesses can thrive while contributing to social good.
Perkins’ commitment to making a positive impact on the world through both business and philanthropy sets her apart as a visionary leader and an excellent example of the power of determination and hard work.
– Written by Natalie Brabben for Spring ACT
