This part-time teacher turned her classes into a $1B+/year...
Tibo@tibo_maker
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Jan 19, 2024
~5 min read
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This part-time teacher turned her classes into a $1B+/year business.
With 100M users & billions in revenue, she captured the entire design market with one software.
Here's the unknown story of Melanie Perkins 🧵
With 100M users & billions in revenue, she captured the entire design market with one software.
Here's the unknown story of Melanie Perkins 🧵
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Melanie Perkins is the co-founder of Canva.
Her story is inspiring because she:
- faced 100+ investor rejections
- had ZERO Silicon Valley connections
- No technical background
And yet, she built a product used by 100M+ users.
Her story is inspiring because she:
- faced 100+ investor rejections
- had ZERO Silicon Valley connections
- No technical background
And yet, she built a product used by 100M+ users.
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She knew Canva's USP from the start.
She wanted to build a platform where one could design, edit & even create at the same time.
Let's dive into her story 👇🏻
She wanted to build a platform where one could design, edit & even create at the same time.
Let's dive into her story 👇🏻
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Melanie was born in Perth to multicultural parents.
Her entrepreneurship journey started at 14 when she sold handmade scarves at shops.
But she also aspired to be a professional skater.
In fact, Melanie would wake up at 4:30 am for her training sessions.
Her entrepreneurship journey started at 14 when she sold handmade scarves at shops.
But she also aspired to be a professional skater.
In fact, Melanie would wake up at 4:30 am for her training sessions.
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Then came 2006.
Melanie & her boyfriend Cliff were studying at the University of Western Australia.
During her free time, Melanie taught design programs to other students.
Melanie & her boyfriend Cliff were studying at the University of Western Australia.
During her free time, Melanie taught design programs to other students.
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But every design software was way too complex.
Students would take an entire semester just to understand the basics of the software.
That's when Melanie decided to change it.
She wanted to make design accessible to everyone.
Students would take an entire semester just to understand the basics of the software.
That's when Melanie decided to change it.
She wanted to make design accessible to everyone.
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But she didn't exactly start off with design software.
Neither she nor her boyfriend knew coding.
So they focused on a niche product first: High school yearbooks.
They took a loan of $50,000 AUD from friends & family and hired an agency to create the website.
Neither she nor her boyfriend knew coding.
So they focused on a niche product first: High school yearbooks.
They took a loan of $50,000 AUD from friends & family and hired an agency to create the website.
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They named the website Fusion Books.
It allowed students to design their own school yearbooks with a simple drag-and-drop tool.
To market the product, they started cold-calling schools & sent them a sample yearbook.
They operated the company from Melanie's mom's living room.
It allowed students to design their own school yearbooks with a simple drag-and-drop tool.
To market the product, they started cold-calling schools & sent them a sample yearbook.
They operated the company from Melanie's mom's living room.
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In the first year, 16 schools signed up for fusion books.
Then the growth continued.
Year 2: 50
Year 3: 100
Within 5 years, Fusion Books grew into the largest yearbook company in Australia and expanded into France and New Zealand.
Then the growth continued.
Year 2: 50
Year 3: 100
Within 5 years, Fusion Books grew into the largest yearbook company in Australia and expanded into France and New Zealand.
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Fusion Books was performing extremely well.
But Melanie hadn't forgotten her crazy dream.
She wanted to integrate the entire design ecosystem into an easy-to-use website.
That's when she met Bill Tai in 2010.
But Melanie hadn't forgotten her crazy dream.
She wanted to integrate the entire design ecosystem into an easy-to-use website.
That's when she met Bill Tai in 2010.
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Bill is a Silicon Valley investor who happened to be in Perth at that time.
Melanie spoke with him at a conference and he was impressed by her idea.
In fact, he invited her to San Francisco and 6 months later, Melanie was on her flight to SF.
Melanie spoke with him at a conference and he was impressed by her idea.
In fact, he invited her to San Francisco and 6 months later, Melanie was on her flight to SF.
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The meeting with Bill went well.
He introduces her to Lars (co-founder of Google Maps) who ultimately became Canva's first advisor.
Lars agreed to help Canva find a technical co-founder.
He introduces her to Lars (co-founder of Google Maps) who ultimately became Canva's first advisor.
Lars agreed to help Canva find a technical co-founder.
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Bill was willing to invest if Melanie could find a tech co-founder.
Melanie started hunting.
She did several things like:
- attending engineering conferences
- cold-calling people
- reaching out to people on LinkedIn
3 months went by, but she couldn't find anyone.
Melanie started hunting.
She did several things like:
- attending engineering conferences
- cold-calling people
- reaching out to people on LinkedIn
3 months went by, but she couldn't find anyone.
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Melanie even took kitesurfing lessons to build rapport with Tai.
This came in handy when Bill invited the team to his annual venture & kitesurfing conference MaiTai.
This was the conference where Melanie first pitched her idea.
People loved it but they didn't get a deal.
This came in handy when Bill invited the team to his annual venture & kitesurfing conference MaiTai.
This was the conference where Melanie first pitched her idea.
People loved it but they didn't get a deal.
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But Melanie got success on the other front.
She finally found her tech co-founder Cameron Adams.
Now she could go back to Bill Tai and ask for funding.
Bill agreed to invest $100K into the company.
She finally found her tech co-founder Cameron Adams.
Now she could go back to Bill Tai and ask for funding.
Bill agreed to invest $100K into the company.
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Now they needed an engineer.
Dave Hearnden was the perfect guy.
The problem: He was working at Google & didn't want to leave.
So Perkins created a funny deck of 16 slides telling the story of a man called Dave.
It was hilarious & Dave eventually left Google.
Dave Hearnden was the perfect guy.
The problem: He was working at Google & didn't want to leave.
So Perkins created a funny deck of 16 slides telling the story of a man called Dave.
It was hilarious & Dave eventually left Google.
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It was time for their first fundraiser.
Melanie received 100+ rejections, for reasons like:
- HQ in Australia, far from the Bay.
- No Harvard, Stanford or MIT background.
- Canva was overpriced.
Canva was called Canvas Chef at that time.
Melanie received 100+ rejections, for reasons like:
- HQ in Australia, far from the Bay.
- No Harvard, Stanford or MIT background.
- Canva was overpriced.
Canva was called Canvas Chef at that time.
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But funding eventually came through.
Their first funding round was oversubscribed.
The company received $1.6M from angel investors and $1.4m from the Australian government.
Here's a slide from their pitch deck 👇🏻
Their first funding round was oversubscribed.
The company received $1.6M from angel investors and $1.4m from the Australian government.
Here's a slide from their pitch deck 👇🏻
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The time had come to start working now.
After a year of development, the Canva team launched their free platform.
Photoshop was $1500 at that time.
Canva’s differentiated approach - an online tool that is free to use allowed them to stand out.
After a year of development, the Canva team launched their free platform.
Photoshop was $1500 at that time.
Canva’s differentiated approach - an online tool that is free to use allowed them to stand out.
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They built up a 50,000-person waitlist before launching.
The company grew rapidly from there:
- 2014: 1M users
- 2015: 6M users
- 2017: 10M users
- 2022: 100M users
In the first 2 years, Canva averaged 3600 signups in a day.
And users have made 2B+ designs in Canva so far.
The company grew rapidly from there:
- 2014: 1M users
- 2015: 6M users
- 2017: 10M users
- 2022: 100M users
In the first 2 years, Canva averaged 3600 signups in a day.
And users have made 2B+ designs in Canva so far.
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But Canva is not going to stop here.
They continue to add new features to the product day by day.
Canva:
- has over 100M+ users today
- raised $200M at a valuation of $40B recently
- was ranked 3rd on Forbes’ “Cloud 100” list
- has 3500+ employees
They continue to add new features to the product day by day.
Canva:
- has over 100M+ users today
- raised $200M at a valuation of $40B recently
- was ranked 3rd on Forbes’ “Cloud 100” list
- has 3500+ employees
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Melanie's story is incredibly inspiring to me.
Going through 100+ rejections is a tough job.
But she didn't give up because she believed in her product.
And that's not it.
She recently announced that she'll donate most of her wealth.
Going through 100+ rejections is a tough job.
But she didn't give up because she believed in her product.
And that's not it.
She recently announced that she'll donate most of her wealth.
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I hope you learned something valuable from this.
Follow @tibo_maker for more such threads around AI & SaaS.
And if you want to support, RT the first tweet below.
Follow @tibo_maker for more such threads around AI & SaaS.
And if you want to support, RT the first tweet below.
Tibo@tibo_maker
This part-time teacher turned her classes into a $1B+/year business.
With 100M users & billions in revenue, she captured the entire design market with one software.
Here's the unknown story of Melanie Perkins 🧵
With 100M users & billions in revenue, she captured the entire design market with one software.
Here's the unknown story of Melanie Perkins 🧵
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Every week, I share the unique business opportunities I find during my research.
This is probably worth a look: tibo.beehiiv.com 🙏
This is probably worth a look: tibo.beehiiv.com 🙏