Canva, the popular design platform, has become a global phenomenon, empowering millions to unleash their creativity.In a recent interview, Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins shed light on the company’s vision, growth, and commitment to social impact.
Perkins highlighted Canva’s unique position at the intersection of creativity and productivity. “We really believe that people on the productivity side actually want to be more creative, and that people on the creative side want to be more productive,” she explained. “And so we really found that to be the sweet spot—it was a huge gap in the market that we saw right in the early days, and it’s where we’re continuing to invest very heavily.”
Canva’s own team is a testament to the platform’s versatility. “We use Canva extremely extensively, for literally everything,” Perkins shared. “Our engineers do their engineering docs in Canva,we do all-hands,I do all of my product mock-ups in it. I’ve used it for decision decks and vision decks and onboarding and hiring and recruitment—name somthing, we’re using Canva for it very extensively.”
Despite a drop in valuation from $40 billion in 2021 to $26 billion in 2022, Perkins remains unfazed.”I think it was purely the macro shift in the market,” she stated. ”During that time, Canva has continued to grow rapidly, both on revenue and active users. We’ve been profitable for seven years as well, so even though the market [switched to caring] more about profitability, we were fortunately already on that trend.”
Canva’s commitment to social good is deeply ingrained in its DNA. Perkins and co-founder Cliff Obrecht have pledged 30% of the company—the majority of their equity—to charitable causes.”It seems completely absurd that we have the prosperity that we do across the globe, and there are people that still don’t have basic human needs being met,” Perkins said. “The first step that we’ve taken is partnering wiht GiveDirectly, where we give money directly to people who are living in extreme poverty.”
To date, Canva has donated $30 million to people living in poverty in Malawi through givedirectly. “I love the empowerment that gives them to be able to spend the money on their community, on their family, on their basic human needs—sending their kids to school, getting a roof over their head,” Perkins shared.
looking ahead, Canva aims to reach a staggering 1 billion users. “When we set that as a goal a number of years ago, it seemed completely ridiculous, but over the years, it’s becoming less ridiculous,” Perkins noted. “we need about one in five internet users in every country to reach a billion.”
With Canva already boasting 200 million users, Perkins is optimistic about achieving this ambitious goal. “If we can continue to grow as rapidly as we have been, we’ll hopefully get there,” she said.
While an IPO is on the horizon, Perkins remains focused on Canva’s core mission: “It’s definitely something on the horizon.”
## canva Co-Founder Melanie Perkins on Democratizing Design and Empowering Creativity
**World Today News Exclusive Interview**
Canva, teh Australian design platform, has exploded in popularity, becoming a beloved tool for individuals and businesses alike. World Today News sat down with Canva co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins to discuss the companyS journey, its commitment to accessibility, and its vision for the future.
**World Today News (WTN): Canva has become a global phenomenon, empowering millions to express their creativity. What fueled your passion for democratizing design?**
**Melanie Perkins (MP):**
We truly believe everyone is inherently creative. Traditional design tools were often complex and expensive, creating a barrier to entry for many. We imagined a world where anyone, regardless of their skills or budget, could bring their ideas to life visually. That’s the core of Canva – making design accessible and empowering everyone to communicate more effectively.
**WTN: Canva sits at a unique intersection of creativity and productivity. How do you see these two concepts converging?**
**MP:** Absolutely! We believe people who are productive don’t want to be stuck with bland, uninspired presentations or marketing materials. They crave tools that allow them to be creative and express themselves while getting things done efficiently. Canva bridges that gap, allowing users to design professional-looking visuals quickly and easily without needing design expertise.
**WTN: Canva has grown incredibly rapidly. What are some of the key factors behind this success?**
**MP:** One key factor is our commitment to user experience. We constantly listen to our community and iterate on our platform based on their needs. Our intuitive interface, vast library of templates and design elements, and collaborative features make Canva incredibly user-friendly.
Secondly, our freemium model has been crucial. people can access a powerful design toolkit without any financial commitment,which has allowed Canva to reach a massive global audience.
**WTN: You’ve spoken about Canva’s commitment to social impact. Can you tell us more about that?**
**MP:** We believe design should be used for good. We offer Canva for Nonprofits, a program that provides free access to Canva Pro to eligible organizations. We also encourage our team to use their skills to support social causes through initiatives like Canva Design School, which provides free design education around the world.
**WTN: Looking ahead, what’s next for Canva?**
**MP:** We’re constantly innovating and expanding our platform.We’re excited about exploring new technologies like Artificial Intelligence to further empower our users and make design even more accessible. Our ultimate vision is to become the world’s go-to platform for all visual dialog needs, regardless of who you are or what you do.
**WTN:** Thank you for your time, Melanie. We look forward to seeing what Canva accomplishes in the years to come.
