- Faster Than Normal™
- Posts
- Melanie Perkins
Melanie Perkins
Alex Brogan
September 21, 2024 • Read Time: 13 minutes
In partnership with
This edition is brought to you by Vinovest
Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Saturday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world’s most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.
Today, we’re covering Melanie Perkins and her journey to building Canva into a billion-dollar design platform.
If you enjoy this, feel free to forward along to a friend or colleague who might too. First time reading? Sign up here.
What you’ll learn:
How Melanie Perkins created a billion-dollar startup from her living room
Lessons on rejection, dreaming big, and networking effectively
Quotes on vision, rejection, and opportunity
Cheers,
Alex
P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. We want to be worthy of your time. I respond to every email.
Melanie Perkins
Melanie Perkins grew up in Perth, Australia, far from the tech hubs of Silicon Valley. Her parents were hardworking immigrants. From a young age, she showed an entrepreneurial spirit. At 14, she started selling handmade scarves at local markets.
"I never forgot the freedom and excitement of being able to build a business," Perkins recalls.
While studying at university, Perkins noticed how difficult it was for students to learn complex design software. She saw an opportunity to simplify graphic design for everyone. This sparked the idea that would become Canva.
Perkins dropped out of university at 19 to pursue her vision. She and her boyfriend Cliff Obrecht started small with Fusion Books, an online yearbook design business. They ran it from her mother's living room with almost no resources.
"My mum's living room became my office, and my boyfriend became my business partner," Perkins says.
But Perkins had bigger dreams. She wanted to create a platform that would make design accessible to all. Pursuing this goal meant facing constant rejection. Perkins pitched to over 100 investors. Most said no.
"Rejection hurts, a lot, but failure was never an option," Perkins explains.
She persevered, refining her pitch after each rejection. Perkins even learned to kitesurf to network with investors who enjoyed the sport. Her determination paid off when she secured initial funding in 2013.
Canva launched that year, offering a simple drag-and-drop interface for creating designs. Growth was explosive. Within a year, Canva had over 150,000 users.
Today, Canva is a global success story. It has over 60 million monthly active users in 190 countries. The company is valued at $40 billion. Perkins, once rejected by countless investors, is now one of the world's youngest female tech billionaires.
But for Perkins, success isn't just about personal wealth. She and Obrecht have pledged to give away 30% of Canva to charity.
"It has felt strange when people refer to us as 'billionaires' as it has never felt like our money, we've always felt that we're purely custodians of it," Perkins wrote in a blog post.
Perkins' journey from selling scarves to leading a tech giant embodies the power of persistence. She identified a problem, envisioned a solution, and refused to give up despite countless setbacks.
"As a leader, I feel my job is to set the vision and the goals for the company, and then to work with everyone to empower them to dream big and crazy," Perkins says.
Her story shows that with enough determination, even the wildest dreams can become reality. From a living room in Perth to boardrooms around the world, Melanie Perkins turned rejection into a billion-dollar success.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Embrace rejection as a learning opportunity. You'll face countless rejections on your entrepreneurial journey. Don't let them discourage you. Instead, use them as fuel to improve. Melanie Perkins pitched to over 100 investors before securing funding for Canva. She recalls, "Rejection hurts, a lot, but failure was never an option." After each rejection, she refined her pitch and approach. This persistence eventually paid off when she secured initial funding in 2013.
Lesson 2: Start small, but dream big. You don't need to launch with a fully-formed product. Begin with a smaller, more manageable version of your idea. Perkins started with Fusion Books, an online yearbook design business, before expanding to Canva. She says, "My mum's living room became my office, and my boyfriend became my business partner." This small start allowed her to test her concept and gain valuable experience before tackling the larger vision.
Lesson 3: Learn new skills to network effectively. You might need to step out of your comfort zone to connect with the right people. Perkins learned kitesurfing to network with investors who enjoyed the sport. This unconventional approach demonstrates the lengths you might need to go to make crucial connections. It's about finding common ground, even if it means acquiring new skills.
Lesson 4: Be prepared to pivot. You must be willing to adapt your idea based on feedback and market demands. Perkins initially focused on the education sector with Fusion Books but pivoted to a broader market with Canva. She advises, "Solve customer problems and make sure that the customer is representative of a large market and then you will have a pretty good formula".
Melanie Perkins Quotes
On vision: "You have to believe in yourself and your vision for a very long time before anyone else will.”
On rejection: "The rejection is often not because of the reasons you think they are rejecting you. Use each 'no' to refine your approach."
On opportunity: "Plant lots and lots of seeds and hopefully one will grow. You never know which connection or idea will be the one that takes off."
On determination: "If you are determined and want it, you can just go for it. Your background or circumstances don't define your potential for success."
On giving back: "Success isn't just about personal wealth. Remember, you're purely a custodian of your success, use it to make a positive impact."
On company culture: "Your job as a leader is to empower your team to dream big and crazy alongside you."
Weekly Challenge
This week, consider how you can apply Perkins' lessons to your work life.
Questions:
Have you faced rejection recently? How did you handle it?
Are there any comfort zones you need to step out of to progress?
Is there a smaller version of your big idea that you could start working on now?
Whiskey: The Tangible Asset for Your Portfolio
Most people fail to diversify their investments.
They invest all their money in intangible assets like stocks, bonds, and crypto.
The solution - fine whiskey.
Whiskey is a tangible asset, providing a unique appeal compared to other investments. Casks of whiskey have measurable attributes like size, age, and weight, making their value indisputable. This physical nature allows for clear identification of issues and adjustments to safeguard future value.
Vinovest’s expertise in managing these tangible assets ensures your whiskey casks are stored and insured to the highest standards, enhancing their worth over time. Discover how this tangible, appreciating asset can enhance your investment portfolio.
Articles and Interviews
Videos
Further Readings
That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.
Have a wonderful rest of week, all.
Recommendation Zone
⎯
Hire remote employees with confidence
Two years ago, I hired an offshore assistant for the first time. Since then, I’ve recommended many people do the same. It’s been one of the highest leverage things I’ve done, helping with everything marketing and customer support (for The Intelligence Age) and personal matters and email management.
Athyna is a service that quickly (<5 days!) finds remote employees across 150+ countries for you or your team. They cover roles from sales and marketing to creative and product, and have worked with companies like Facebook, Zoom, Uber, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Amazon.
I’ve personally used Athyna and recommended them to my Brother, Will, who runs a fashion label, and several close friends running their own businesses. To date, they’ve all had very positive experiences.
If you’re in the market for talent, visit their website to explore options and cover all your hiring needs.
Why Faster Than Normal? Our mission is to be a friend to the ambitious, a mentor to the becoming, and a partner to the bold. We achieve this by sharing the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world's most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.
Faster Than Normal is a ‘state' of being’ rather than an outcome. Outlier performance requires continuous, compounded improvement. We’re your partner on this journey.
Send us your feedback and help us continuously improve our content and achieve our mission. We want to hear from you and respond to everyone.
Interested in reaching Founders, Operators, and Investors like you? To become a Faster Than Normal partner, apply here.