Canva: Melanie Perkins (2019) 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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Canva: Melanie Perkins (2019)

March 1, 202112:01 AM ET

Canva: Melanie Perkins (2019)

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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.

Special Series

How I Built This

For all new episodes, go to the How I Built This page on Wondery.com