A decade ago, no one would have thought that there would be an online design tool such as Canva that would revolutionize the industry and help creators create their designs without spending tons of money on designers or hiring design agencies.
This is the story of Melaine Perkins…
A strong woman entrepreneur from Australia whose light shines bright and who has helped micro, small and medium businesses in creating their legacy – and also has given the creators and social media influencers the power to tell the stories visually.
Born in Perth, Western Australia, Melaine Perkins had the destiny written to transform the designing world and make a remarkable tool that would be loved genuinely by millions of people and would help them promote them online and offline. Melanie Perkins, a college dropout, has achieved remarkable success. She enrolled in the University of Western Australia for doing Majors in communications, psychology, and commerce.
However, the destiny had something else planned for her. She noticed the challenges students faced in learning the design programs and found her calling. She dropped out of the university to pursue Fusion Books with Cliff Obrecht (Co-founder of Canva). They both dated for years before tying the knot in 2021 on Rottnest Island.
Her Journey to Success –
Melanie Perkins and her partner, Cliff Obrecht, founded Fusion Books in 2007. This company offered a user-friendly platform for students to design their yearbooks. Starting from humble beginnings in Perkins’ mother’s living room, Fusion Books expanded to become Australia’s largest yearbook company, with operations extending to France and New Zealand.
Despite facing numerous rejections from local investors in Perth, Perkins remained determined. In 2011, she pitched the initial concept of Canva to renowned investor Bill Tai. Although they didn’t secure funding at that time, they continued to attend gatherings hosted by Tai. A pivotal moment arrived when Perkins met Lars Rasmussen, a co-founder of Google Maps, who became their technical advisor and introduced them to Cameron Adams. Adams joined Canva as the third founder and chief product officer.
It took Melanie Perkins 100+ rejections over 3 years to start Canva and transform the desinging industry completely. During the course, she had numerous futile trips to Silicon Valley for the funding. Every No took Melaine closer to the person who eventaully said ‘yes’ to her dream project.
Under the leadership of this talented trio, Canva emerged as one of the few profitable “unicorn” start-ups. Perkins, who retained a significant stake of around 18% in the company, continued to serve as CEO. Her remarkable achievements led to her inclusion in the Financial Review Rich List of 2023.
In 2022, she was inducted into the 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame – and in 2023, she solidified her position as a billionaire by appearing on Forbes’ Billionaires list.
The best thing which makes Melanie Perkins stand out from the rest is her commitment to combating poverty by pledging her 30% stake in Canva for social causes. Possibly, Melanie has breached the “Veil of Maya” and has gone one step further to overcome the human greed that only increases with money. Her success lies not only in creating something amazing tool like Canva but also in her life itself that would inspire people to follow compassion.
Date of Founding – Canva
Founded on June 18, 2012, but it was officially launched to the public in August 2013, and no one in their right mind would’ve thought of Canva becoming a big and strong competitor of Adobe Photoshop and other products. In 2024, Canva is valued at $40 billion and shows no sign of stopping. Their love and passion for introducing new features and keeping the users hooked on the platform have given them an edge over their competitors.
Just like WhatsApp gained the edge through its simple UI (User Interface and UX (User Experience), Canva did something similar. They made the platform so simple yet engaging that many small businesses left the designing agencies and shifted to their platform. Another thing is they have a free account for the starters. The paid accounts have very small fees but priceless offer value.
P.S. – if you are looking for full-length IELTS Reading Practice Tests (IELTS Cambridge Books), you can also do them on our website.
Note – To improve the reading habits of the students, we have uploaded entertaining yet moral-based short stories including famous failures that would not only help you in improving your IELTS reading skills but will also grow your personality and you may become more successful in foreign lands. You can read them here.
Voxcel aims to impart not only world-class IELTS coaching but also we look forward to develop the overall personality of our students.