Melanie Perkins: From Rejection to Building a $40 Billion Design Empire

In the world of startups, rejection is common—but few have faced it as boldly as Melanie Perkins, the co-founder and CEO of Canva. Her journey from being turned down by over 100 investors to leading one of the world’s most successful female-founded startups is a story of perseverance, vision, and relentless belief.

Born in Perth, Australia, Melanie was just a university student when she noticed how complicated graphic design software was for the average person. Most tools required weeks or months of training—something she believed could be simplified. This frustration sparked the idea for a new kind of design platform: one that was accessible, intuitive, and could be used by anyone, anywhere.

But turning this idea into reality wasn’t easy.

Melanie and her co-founder Cliff Obrecht first launched a smaller project called Fusion Books, an online tool to help students and schools design yearbooks. It gained traction in Australia and helped validate the demand for simple design solutions.

Emboldened by their success, they set their sights higher—with Canva.

However, the early stages were brutal. Melanie pitched her idea to investors over 100 times, often facing skepticism. Many questioned whether a young woman from Australia could build a tech company that could compete globally, especially in the heavily male-dominated Silicon Valley. Still, she didn’t give up.

Her persistence finally paid off when tech investor Bill Tai saw potential in her idea. From there, Melanie built a strong team, refined her product, and launched Canva in 2013.

The rest is history.

Canva revolutionized the design industry by empowering people with drag-and-drop tools, templates, and collaboration features—making professional-looking design accessible to all. It now serves over 135 million users across 190 countries and is used for everything from presentations and social media posts to business cards and resumes.

Today, Canva is valued at over $40 billion, with annual revenues surpassing $3 billion. More importantly, it stands as a powerful symbol of female-led innovation, breaking stereotypes and inspiring millions of aspiring entrepreneurs around the world.

Despite her success, Melanie remains grounded. She’s committed to Canva’s mission of "empowering the world to design" and continues to reinvest in education, social causes, and building an inclusive company culture.