1. She's married to her Canva co-founder, Cliff Obrecht
Co-founders Perkins and Obrecht tied the knot in January 2021 on Rottnest Island in Australia. The two have been together since their youth, with Obrecht supporting Perkins from her very first business, Fusion Books, a yearbook publisher.
2. Perkins and Obrecht have a shared net worth of $6.18 billion
Following their marriage and Canva's latest funding round, the two have a shared net worth of $6.18 billion. Despite going through 13 rounds of funding for Canva, the founders have managed to keep a controlling stake in the company, which is still privately held. The two are now considered among the top 10 richest individuals in Australia, on the same level as Australia's mining, mall, and media tycoons. The couple is already richer than every billionaire in the Philippines save for Manny Villar ($7 billion).
3. Despite their massive wealth, the couple plans to donate all of it away
Obrecht proposed to Perkins with a $30 ring in Turkey, so it's clear money and prestige mean little to these billionaires. In fact, they're already planning to set up a foundation to facilitate all of their donations and contributions. The two plan to donate most of their wealth away to causes like climate change and global wealth inequality.
4. Their staff also have a share of Canva's massive valuation
Not only are they sharing their wealth with charities, they're also ensuring their employees get a slice of the pie as Canva's valuation continues to increase. Employees at Canva have a stock option that allows them to participate in a share plan that comprises about five percent of Canva's total equity. With Canva's valuation currently at $15 billion, that puts five percent at around $750 million. Talk about employee perks.
5. Canva is Perkins' second startup
Perkins' first startup is actually Fusion Books, a yearbook published which is still around today. In fact, it's now one of the largest yearbook publishers in Australia. Perkins started this startup with Obrecht when they were only 19 and made their company headquarters from her mother's living room in Australia.
6. She dropped out of college to pursue her passion
But in order to pursue her first startup, Melanie decided to drop out of college to dedicate all of her time to Fusion Books. She was previously enrolled in the University of Western Australia studying communications, psychology, and commerce.
7. She built her first business at 14
While Fusion Books was her first (registered) startup, Perkins was already practicing her hand at entrepreneurship before high school. When she was only 14, she started a small business selling handmade scarves at markets in Perth. No doubt, that creativity would come in handy in the years to come.
8. She was rejected by 100 venture capitalists
The road to success isn't easy, as every startup founder knows. One investment is often preceded by at least 10 rejections, but in Perkins' case, it was 100 rejections. In Canva's early days, Perkins decided to stay with her brother in San Francisco for a while to tap the pool of venture capitalists in the area. She was rejected by 100 investors, who we're sure are regretting that decision now.
9. Her first investors were Hollywood celebrities
After failing to impress the Bay Area's venture capitalists, Perkins tried her hand with another group of people, namely Hollywood celebrities. Some of her first investors were Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson, whom she met at a kite-surfing retreat of all places.
10. She learned kite-surfing just to impress a possible investor
In a bid to get the attention of an investor the couple was eyeing, Perkins learned how to kite-surf to impress Silicon Valley venture capitalist Bill Tai, an avid kite-surfers. Perhaps impressed by their tenacity, Tai invited the two to his kite-surfing gatherings with tech leaders. One thing led to another, and the two met something better than an investor: future Canva co-founder and ex-Google employee Cameron Adams. The three then went on make history.
Melanie Perkins was born in Perth, Western Australia. She is the daughter of an Australian-born teacher and a Malaysian engineer of Filipino and Sri Lankan descent. She attended Sacred Heart College, a secondary school located in the northern Perth suburb of Sorrento. At high school, Perkins had aspirations of becoming a professional figure skater and would routinely wake up at 4:30 am to train. By the age of fourteen, she had started her first business, selling handmade scarves at shops and markets throughout Perth. She credits this experience with developing her entrepreneurial drive as ‘she never forgot the freedom and excitement from building a business.’
After high school, Perkins enrolled at the University of Western Australia, majoring in communications, psychology and commerce. At this time, Perkins was also a private tutor for students learning graphic design. She noticed the difficulties students had in learning design programs such as Adobe Photoshop, where it would often take students a semester at university to be introduced to basic features of these complex design programs. Perkins thought there was a business opportunity in making the design process easier. Her idea was to make a design platform where no technical experience was required. She dropped out of university at age 19 to pursue her first business with Cliff Obrecht, Fusion Books.
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