20VC Start Niche, Move Broader & Become Profitable Quickly with Melanie Perkins, Founder & CEO @ Canva

In this episode of the 20 minutes VC, host welcomes Melanie Perkins, the innovative founder and CEO of Canva, a platform revolutionizing design with over 10 million users globally. Perkins shares her journey from teaching design at university to identifying the need for a more accessible, online design tool, leading to the creation of Canva. Initially focusing on a niche market with yearbooks in Australia, Canva has since expanded globally, attracting funding from Shasta, Felicis, Blackbird Ventures, and Airtree. Perkins emphasizes the importance of starting small, understanding customer needs, and timing expansion for startups. The conversation also touches on the challenges of fundraising, the value of mentors, and Canva's growth strategy, including their dual free and premium product offerings and international expansion plans.

• Melanie Perkins is the founder and CEO of Canva, an online design platform.
• Canva has over 10 million users from 179 countries.
• The company has received funding from Shasta Felisis, Blackbird Ventures, and airtree in Australia.

"So joining me today, I'm delighted to welcome Melanie Perkins, founder and CEO at Canva, the disruptive online platform allowing anyone to create professional quality designs and they have over 10 million users from 179 countries and have funding from our friends at Shasta Felisis and upcoming guests Blackbird Ventures and airtree in Australia."

The quote introduces Melanie Perkins and provides an overview of Canva's user base, international reach, and funding sources, highlighting the company's success and global impact.

• Melanie Perkins was teaching graphic design programs part-time while at university.
• She noticed students struggled to learn the basics of Photoshop and Adobe InDesign.
• Perkins envisioned the future of design being online, collaborative, and simpler.
• Started by focusing on the niche market of online yearbook creation.
• Canva was launched two and a half years after the concept was developed.
• Canva now has users worldwide who have created over 80 million designs.

"And so realized that it was going to be completely different in the future. It was all going to be online and collaborative and much, much simpler. And so took this concept and started it."

This quote captures Perkins' realization that the future of design would be online and user-friendly, which led to the inception of Canva.

• Perkins believes in starting with a niche and then expanding.
• Focusing on a small market allows for learning and gaining advocates.
• Profitability and laser focus are crucial for sustaining and growing a company.

"I like this idea of starting each and then going wide. And so rather than trying to take on the entire market at the same time, you can just learn so many things."

The quote emphasizes the strategy of mastering a small segment before expanding, allowing for a more sustainable growth trajectory.

• Perkins suggests brainstorming the future of industries, not just ideas.
• It is important to position a company to align with future industry trends.
• Starting with a niche that fits into the anticipated future is strategic.

"I think one of the best things that you can do is to brainstorm the future of industries."

This quote advises aspiring entrepreneurs to think long-term about the direction of entire industries to identify opportunities for innovation.

• Canva expanded beyond yearbooks when the demand for broader design uses became apparent.
• Users requested to use Canva's software for various other design needs.
• Perkins had a fortuitous meeting that led to taking Canva to the next level.

"So it was actually quite funny. We kept on getting asked by school yearbook coordinators if they could use our software for other things."

The quote illustrates the organic demand from users that led to Canva's expansion into wider design markets.## Introduction to Venture Capital Ecosystem

• Melanie Perkins from Perth, Australia, had her first encounter with a venture capitalist, Bill Ty.
• Bill Ty expressed interest in investing if Melanie could find a technical team.
• Melanie spent three months in San Francisco trying to find a team before her visa expired.
• It took a year to find the right technical team for Canva, which is a complex project.
• The timing of meeting Bill Ty was optimal because her previous business, Fusion Books, was doing well and there was potential for a bigger opportunity.

"an investor, Bill Ty, who came to my hometown, Perth in Australia, which happens to be the most isolated city in the world. And he said if I went to Silicon Valley, he'd be happy to meet up with me."

This quote highlights the initial connection Melanie Perkins made with investor Bill Ty, which eventually led her to Silicon Valley and introduced her to the venture capital ecosystem.

• Canva experienced rapid growth and scaled up to over 100 staff across offices in Sydney and Manila.
• The company introduced the concept of "little startups" within the organization to maintain agility.
• Each "little startup" has its goals and celebrates achievements with unique and fun activities.
• In terms of talent recruitment outside the Bay Area, Canva has successfully hired globally, finding it easier to hire in Sydney than in San Francisco.

"So we've split out into these little startups that have their own goals and missions, and then when they hit their goals, we do some really fun celebrations."

This quote explains Canva's approach to maintaining a startup spirit and a structured environment that enables employees to excel by organizing the company into smaller, goal-oriented teams.

• Initially, Canva used Fusion Books as a demonstration of their ability to build and market a product.
• Finding the right technical co-founder took significant effort, including attending conferences and networking.
• Lars Rasmussen, co-founder of Google Maps, helped filter potential technical team members for Canva.
• After a year, Lars introduced Melanie to Cameron Adams and Dave Herndon, who became co-founders and set a high technical bar for the team.

"And so for a whole year, I would go to conferences and cold call people and stalk people on LinkedIn and do all sorts of things, trying to find amazing engineers."

This quote describes the intense effort Melanie Perkins put into finding the right technical co-founder and team for Canva, highlighting the importance of persistence and networking in startup team formation.

• Melanie Perkins used creative methods to recruit, such as a personalized visual pitch deck for potential hires.
• This approach successfully attracted Dave Herndon to the Canva team.

"I sent him a visual pitch deck where I'd taken photos from his facebook and created this story about how if he joined canva, he'd be full of challenges and adventures, and it was going to be a great time."

This quote illustrates a unique and personalized recruitment strategy that Melanie used to engage potential team members, emphasizing the importance of creativity in attracting top talent.

• Canva's fundraising began in the US through introductions from Bill Ty, leading to meetings with Silicon Valley investors.
• The company later found Australian investors to support their vision.
• Having investors from both the US and Australia has been beneficial, providing a balance of experiences and support for Canva.

"It was actually from the US and then Australia."

This quote clarifies the sequence of Canva's fundraising efforts, starting in the US and then moving to Australia, which was not a planned strategy but played out favorably for the company.

• Investors like Wes Chan from Felicis Ventures brought valuable experience from building large companies.
• Australian investors, such as Blackbird, are contributing to the growth of the local startup ecosystem.

"And then also having some investors based here in Australia like Blackbird, who are really helping to grow the startup ecosystem here, has been very helpful as well."

This quote emphasizes the advantage of having a diverse group of investors from different backgrounds and locations, which has contributed positively to Canva's growth and the broader startup environment in Australia.## Venture Capital Understanding and Approach

• Canva started with no knowledge of the venture capital scene due to its absence in Perth.
• The lack of a VC scene was advantageous as it allowed Canva to create a unique company culture without preconceived notions.
• Early on, they focused on creating a strong vision and solving important problems.

"When we first started out, we had absolutely no idea about venture capital or anything like that. And that was because in Perth there really wasn't much of a vc scene at all." "We had to really figure out what feels right as far as our company goes, what sort of culture do we want to create?"

These quotes emphasize the initial lack of VC knowledge and how it led to an organic development of Canva's company culture and vision.

• Feedback from investors, both positive and negative, was incorporated into Canva's pitch deck.
• The pitch deck evolved from a few pages to a comprehensive document that preemptively addressed potential investor concerns.
• The iterative refinement of the pitch deck helped clarify Canva's vision, which remains consistent to this day.

"Every time we got feedback back from investors, whether or not it was positive or negative, we'd incorporate that back into our pitch check and we continuously refined it." "By the time we had our hundreds revisions of the pitch deck, we had a very clear way of articulating our vision."

These quotes highlight the importance of investor feedback in refining the pitch deck and the value of a clear, consistent vision in the fundraising process.

• The most important criterion for investors was a shared understanding of Canva's vision.
• Early fundraising involved numerous rejections, but later success allowed Canva to choose their investors.
• Wes from Felicis Ventures was chosen for their product-driven approach and valuable experience.

"I think the most important thing is they understand our vision and where we're trying to go, and they can have a shared understanding of what we're trying to do." "Wes from Felisa were absolutely incredible, and the experience that they've had and being very product driven was an instrumental part of our decision there."

These quotes detail the critical factor of shared vision in selecting investors and the strategic value they bring to Canva's growth.

• Mentors played a significant role in Canva's journey, with individuals like Lars providing substantial support.
• Melanie Perkins was surprised at the early support from mentors given Canva's then-ambitious vision.

"That's definitely correct." "I'm quite surprised that he took me seriously."

The acknowledgment of the mentors' role and Melanie's surprise at their early support illustrate the importance of mentorship and belief in a startup's vision.

• Canva transitioned from a free product to offering a premium version, Canva for Work, without compromising the free product's availability.
• The premium product was developed in response to user feedback and demand for more advanced features.

"Fortunately for us, we've never actually had to transition. So the product that was free at the very start is still free." "It became very apparent what we needed to build, and then there was a lot of anticipation, actually, about getting those features."

These quotes clarify Canva's monetization approach, maintaining the free product while adding a premium offering that caters to power users' needs based on direct user feedback.## Favourite Book and Its Impact

• Melanie Perkins' favourite book is "Designing the Obvious" by Robert Holtman.
• The book is about UX design and articulated principles Melanie knew innately.

"My favourite book is called designing the obvious by Robert Holtman. And that was one of the first books that I read about UX design, even though I've been doing it for some years, which was quite fun because it really just articulated a lot of the principles that I had known innately."

The quote explains why "Designing the Obvious" is Melanie's favourite book, highlighting its significance in shaping her understanding of UX design principles.

• Melanie Perkins wishes for more time in her day to deliver Canva's vision.
• She acknowledges that they are only 1% of the way there.

"We have so much of our vision yet to deliver. We're. I think we're about 1% of the way there. And so I think I'd love to have more time in my day, if that was at all possible."

This quote reflects Melanie's desire to progress faster in achieving Canva's vision by having more time to work each day.

• Melanie Perkins optimizes her time by combining productivity with fun.
• She lives close to work to save transit time.
• Canva has chefs in the office to avoid time spent on getting lunches.
• In the early days, they used oDesk (now Upwork) to outsource work.
• She recommends hiring as soon as possible for rapid expansion.
• UserTesting.com is used for gaining user insights and refining Canva.

"I think trying to make sure that every single part of my day is having fun or being productive, or ideally both, just most of the day. And so moving close to work was a huge benefit because it meant that I didn't have any time in transit."

This quote emphasizes the importance Melanie places on maximizing productivity and enjoyment throughout her day, including living close to work.

• Melanie Perkins has worked with her boyfriend, a co-founder, since she was 19.
• She views their partnership as a roller coaster and appreciates the shared respect.
• They have faced challenges together, such as backpacking in India.

"It's been absolutely fantastic. It's been such a roller coaster starting a company. And if one of us is staying up until some crazy hour, we just have so much more respect and appreciation for why that person is doing what they're doing."

Melanie's quote conveys the positive aspects of founding Canva with her boyfriend, highlighting mutual respect and shared experiences.

• User satisfaction and empowerment are highlights for Melanie.
• She recalls a user who was impressed with their own design ability using Canva.
• Canva is used by a diverse range of people, from law enforcement to small businesses.
• The impact of Canva in helping users achieve their goals is a key motivator.

"The highlight of the journey. There's been so many highlights. I remember seeing on usertesting.com a video of someone just being incredibly impressed and being. Feeling like they could achieve something that they'd never been able to do before."

This quote captures the joy Melanie feels when Canva users discover their design potential, which is a significant highlight of her journey with the company.

• The goal is for Canva to be accessible to every person on the planet.
• Canva is launching in 20 more languages to reach a global audience.
• Both consumers and professional designers use Canva for various design needs.
• The ease of template use and modification in Canva appeals to professionals.
• Canva aims to serve diverse markets, including education.

"Yeah, we want canva to be in the hands of every single person on the planet. And so that's why we're launching another 20 languages this year."

Melanie's quote outlines the ambitious goal of Canva to become a universally used design tool by expanding its language offerings and catering to both consumers and professionals.