When she was just 19 years old, Melanie Perkins dreamt of transforming the graphic design and publishing industries. But she started small, launching a site to make yearbook design simpler and more collaborative. Her success with that first venture—and an unexpected meeting with a VC investor—eventually landed her the backing to pursue her original idea, and the chance to take on software industry titans like Adobe and Microsoft. Today, Melanie's online design platform Canva is valued at $6 billion, joining the list of Australia's "unicorn" companies.

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Show Notes:

3:10 - Intro
5:14 - The problem with desktop publishing
6:10 - The idea for revamping yearbooks
7:04 - Raising money
7:29 - Pitching to software companies
9:50 - Spreading to schools
10:53 - Creating something bigger
13:33 - Meeting investors
16:25 - Building a tech team
18:48 - Early feelings of failure
21:15 - Kite surfing in Hawaii
23:45 - Pitching everyone
24:45 - Dealing with rejection
26:15 - Questions from investors
29:37 - Asking for advice
32:04 - The team
33:33 - The launch
34:30 - The business model
36:30 - The hiccups
37:36 - Making tough decisions
38:47 - The pressure of being a unicorn
39:34 - Favorite designs
40:29 - Luck vs. hard work
41:18 - What Melanie wish she knew

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Selected Links:

Melanie Perkins
One Cup Coffee Maker
Perth, Australia
FusionYearBooks
Canva
InDepth
Bill Tai
Lars Rasmussen
Kite Surfing
Mai Tai
Dave Hearnden