How Was Canva Founded?
The Early Days of Canva
Melanie Perkins, the CEO of Canva, first had the idea for the platform while teaching graphic design at a university in Perth, Australia. She noticed that many of her students struggled with the complexity of existing design software, and saw an opportunity to create a more user-friendly alternative.
Perkins teamed up with Cliff Obrecht, a fellow student at the university, to develop the initial version of Canva. The two worked out of a small apartment in Perth, with Obrecht handling the technical side of things and Perkins focusing on design and marketing.
The Launch of Canva
Canva officially launched in 2013, with a simple mission: to democratize design and make it accessible to everyone. The platform offered a range of templates and design tools that made it easy for anyone to create professional-looking graphics, regardless of their design experience.
The launch was a success, with Canva quickly gaining a following among small business owners, bloggers, and social media influencers. The company raised $3 million in seed funding in 2013, and has since raised over $300 million in total funding.
The Growth of Canva
Since its launch, Canva has grown rapidly, expanding its user base and adding new features and tools. The platform now has over 240 million users in 190 countries, and is available in over 100 languages.
Canva has also expanded beyond its original focus on social media graphics, adding tools for creating presentations, posters, flyers, and more. The company has partnerships with major brands like Dropbox, Google Drive, and HubSpot, and has even launched its own content subscription service, Canva Pro.
In Short
Canva was founded in 2012 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams. The platform launched in 2013 with a mission to democratize design and make it accessible to everyone.
Since then, Canva has grown rapidly, expanding its user base and adding new features and tools. Today, Canva has over 40 million users in 190 countries, and is one of the most popular design tools on the web.
