Melanie Perkins came up with the idea for Canva in 2008 while teaching design programs at the University of Western Australia. She noticed that tools like Photoshop took years of training and cost hundreds of dollars — she wanted to make design as simple and accessible as Facebook.

The Practice Round

In 2007, she and her then-boyfriend Cliff Obrecht launched Fusion Books out of her mother's living room, letting students design their school yearbooks online. This "practice round" taught them everything about building software, running a business, and marketing — they used their tax returns for direct mail campaigns, with family members helping fold letters and stuff envelopes.

100+ Rejections

In 2012, Melanie pivoted to the broader vision of democratizing all design. She pitched to over 100 investors and was rejected every single time. Each rejection was like a bootcamp — she refined her pitch after every meeting. Her breakthrough came when she started asking investors for "advice" rather than money, warming them up over multiple meetings. She eventually secured her first investment through Bill Tai.

Explosive Growth

Cameron Adams (ex-Google designer) joined as technical co-founder, and Canva launched in January 2013. In its first year, 750,000 people signed up. By 2015, growth had exploded 1,400%. Canva hit profitability in 2017, unicorn status ($1B) in 2018, and a staggering $40B valuation in September 2021 with 60 million monthly active users.

• Fusion Books: 2007 (practice round)
• Canva launch: January 2013
• First year signups: 750,000
• Profitability: 2017
• Unicorn ($1B): 2018
• $40B valuation: September 2021
• Current: 220M+ monthly active users, $3B+ ARR