Melanie Perkins — The decisions behind Canva

From school yearbooks to a global design platform. Which decisions made the difference?

As a student, Melanie Perkins saw that design was needlessly complicated for many people. Together with Cliff Obrecht she started an online design tool for school yearbooks. What began as a relatively small company later grew into Canva: an international platform that millions of people use to create designs.

But behind that success lies a far more complicated story.

In this independent FOREFACT publication you discover how Melanie Perkins found her first customers, tried to convince investors, built a technical team with her co-founders and developed Canva from a specialised product into a global design platform.

It doesn’t only cover the successes. It also examines the rejections, financial risks, difficult choices about funding and ownership, the role of Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams and the challenges of a growing technology company.

From story to practice

This is more than a founder biography. As you read, you are challenged to make decisions yourself. In six in-depth Decision Labs you learn, among other things, how to research real customer demand, plan cash flows, make agreements with co-founders, assess a freemium business model and critically analyse financial growth figures.

What do you get?

• 39 pages with the full founder story.

• Eight chronological chapters on how Canva developed.

• Six Decision Labs with business theory and worked examples.

• Six digitally fillable worksheets with 24 answer fields in total.

• Financial calculations, decision questions and a historical timeline.

• A six-week Reality Test to apply the lessons yourself.

• 33 source references for further reading and verification.

Who is this guide for?

For curious readers, future entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to understand how a small idea can grow into an international technology company. Also of interest if you want to learn more about startups, software development, customer research, investors, business models and entrepreneurship.

You don’t just read how Canva grew. You examine which decisions, risks and lessons you can apply yourself.

Digital product · 39 pages · PDF · Available immediately after purchase

This publication was developed independently by FOREFACT and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Melanie Perkins or Canva.