TechCEO Meet Canva Co-Founder Melanie Perkins 

Canva CEO and co-founder, Melanie Perkins, now owns one of the most valuable startups in the world, not to mention it’s a woman-led and women-founded tech company.

On November 5, 2019, Canvas Co-Founder & CEO Melanie Perkins spoke at the annual Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Canva Co-Founder Melanie Perkins

According to an online article by Inc., Canva‘s co-founder came up with the idea of ​​creating an online design tool in 2007, when Perkins was still teaching young minds how to use software and programs. computer design.

Today’s Canva CEO used to work part-time in teaching students how to use design software that required some advanced knowledge to operate due to its complexity.

On top of that, Perkins also found these design software very expensive because of owning a license. To use them came with a hefty price tag for personal use.

That said, the part-time design software teacher came up with the idea.

To create a tool that could be used online that would make the design more accessible. To many people even while they were still careers. novice or beginner.

In addition, according to a Fortune report, Perkins also had the idea. To create a web designer, which we now call Canva, mainly due to a problem she faced during her school days. his university.

Back then, the young Perkins had to spend countless hours, leading up to several months. Just learning the nooks and crannies of the mainstream design software out there.

Melanie Perkins and the Birth of Canva

Initially, Perkins worked with Canva co-founder Cliff Obrecht, who is now her husband. To start a yearbook publishing company, providing users with an easy-to-navigate design platform.

LISBON, PORTUGAL – November 5, 2019; Melanie Perkins, Co-Founder & CEO, Canva, on the creative Stage during the opening day of Web Summit 2019 at Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.

Perkins took a break from college at the age of 19. Then, the tech executive had to raise huge funding for the idea she wanted to turn into reality. Despite facing hundreds of rejections, she persisted in cherishing her billion-dollar idea.

Read more: #TechCEO: Learn about Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and how he’s headed the business

The persistence of CEO Canvas

That said, Perkins is only 34 years old, but she already owns a technology company worth more than $40 billion. What’s more, the Canva co-founder is also the second-richest woman in Australia, according to an Entrepreneur article.

Fortune also noted in the same report that Canva is now widely used for everything like social media posts and presentations. In fact, the online designer now has 60 million monthly active users.