The character arc of Melanie Perkins
Born 13 May 1987 in Perth. Between then and now sit design classes she found too hard to learn, a school yearbook tool built with a partner from her mother's living room, more than a hundred investors who said no, the one yes that changed it, the launch of Canva in 2013, a multibillion valuation, and a pledge to give most of it away. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Melanie Perkins?
Told no a hundred times, then she built Canva.
She grew up in Perth and, while studying at university, taught students how to use the design software of the day. She watched them struggle with programs that took a whole semester to learn, and saw a simpler idea underneath the frustration: design should be something anyone can do in minutes. That classroom was the seed. Rather than wait for someone else to build it, she and her partner started small, from her mother's living room.
Their first company, Fusion Books, let schools make yearbooks with a drag and drop editor and a library of templates. It was bootstrapped, it worked, and over five years it grew into one of the largest yearbook makers in the country. It was never the whole dream. It was proof, and a way to learn how to build. When she took the bigger idea, an online design tool for everyone, to investors, the answer came back no, again and again, more than a hundred times. She kept rebuilding the pitch and kept asking.
The yes finally came, and Canva launched in 2013. It grew into one of the world's most valuable software companies, used by hundreds of millions of people across the world. In 2021 she and her husband signed the Giving Pledge, promising most of their wealth away, and set out what they call a two step plan: build one of the world's most valuable companies, then do the most good they can with it. Her line is worth reading because the hundred rejections are only one stretch of it, and the line kept climbing for more than a decade after.
The moments
Melanie Perkins's timeline.
The 1980s
Born in Perth
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Born 13 May 1987 in Perth, Australia, where she grew up and later went to university.
The 2000s
Design software too hard
Everyday. Teaching students to use the design software of the day, she saw how long it took to learn, and the idea began.
Fusion Books begins
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She and her partner built an online school yearbook tool from her mother's living room, bootstrapped from nothing.
The 2010s
Australia's biggest yearbook maker
Milestone. Over five years Fusion Books grew into one of the largest yearbook makers in the country, proof the bigger idea could work.
Over a hundred rejections
Setback, and it changed her direction. Taking the idea for an online design tool to investors, she was turned down more than a hundred times, and kept refining the pitch.
Give up, or keep pitching
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: keep refining and pitching, taken, or return to what worked. The yes came, and Canva launched the next year and grew into one of the world's most valuable software companies.
The first yes
Milestone. After scores of nos, the backing finally came, and the company that became Canva could be built.
Canva launched
Milestone, and it changed everything. Canva opened to the public, an online design tool built on the idea that anyone should be able to design in minutes.
Canva reached a billion
Milestone. The company passed a billion dollar valuation, five years after launch, with hundreds of millions of people designing on it.
The 2020s
Signed the Giving Pledge
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She and her husband pledged to give away most of their wealth, most of it their stake in Canva.
A forty billion valuation
Milestone, and it changed everything. Canva was valued at around forty billion dollars, among the most valuable private software companies in the world.
A plan to give away
Milestone, and it changed her direction. She and her husband set out the next step in giving away most of their fortune through their foundation.
The line reaches today still building, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What began as a way to make one design class easier now sits in the hands of hundreds of millions of people, and the founder who was told no a hundred times is giving most of what she built away.
In her words
Quotes by Melanie Perkins
Set crazy big goals and make them happen.
We've got a two step plan: to build one of the world's most valuable companies and do the most good we can.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
Hers is nearly four decades in and still being drawn. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about three minutes.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Melanie Perkins, verified 15 September 2026.
- Forbes, profile of Melanie Perkins, 2026 Billionaires list.
- Forbes, exclusive on the Canva co-founders' plan to give away most of their fortune, 16 July 2026.
- Startup Daily, interview with Melanie Perkins on building Canva.
- The CASE Journal (Emerald), case study on Melanie Perkins and Canva.
- Canva Newsroom, author page for Melanie Perkins.
- Melanie Perkins, Startup Daily interview, on building Canva.
- Melanie Perkins, on Canva's purpose, 2021.