Inside Canva: From 2012 to Now Into a $572 million business
Startup Type:
Headquarter: Sydney, Australia
Current Status: Active (private; multi-billion valuation and profitable)
Founders: Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams
Founded Year: 2012
Investors: Blackbird Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Mary Meeker
Funding Raised: $572 million
What Is the business model of Canva?
Online graphic design platform that lets users create designs (social media graphics, presentations, etc.) easily via drag-and-drop, operating on a freemium model with paid premium content and subscriptions
How Canva got started?
Perkins conceived Canva after teaching students design software and seeing the need for a simpler solution, launched in 2013 from Australia making design accessible with templates and an easy interface
what growth strategy has Canva followed?
Leveraged a templates marketplace and a user-friendly free product to attract tens of millions of users, then expanded offerings to drive revenue, becoming one of Australia’s first unicorns
what are the top products/features of Canva
Canva design platform, Canva Pro subscription, Canva Print services, content library
what was the biggest challenge faced by Canva?
Scaling globally from Australia and localizing the product for many languages/cultures, and fending off competition from both professional tools and template websites in the crowded design market