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Co-founder & CEO · Canva
Melanie Perkins
Rejected by 100+ investors, she learned to kitesurf to get into the room.
- Founded
- 2013
- HQ
- Sydney, Australia
- Sector
- Design Software
- Company
- Canva
The story in brief
Perkins was teaching design software at university when she realized how hard it was for beginners. She tested the idea first with Fusion Books, a yearbook design tool.
Canva launched in 2013 after years of pitching and reached a $40 billion valuation in 2021.
Read the full story · 6 min read100 Rejections and a Kitesurfing Lesson: The Unlikely Rise of Canva's Melanie Perkins→Lessons for founders
01
Start with a narrow wedge
02
Treat rejection as feedback
03
Go where the network is
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