Melanie Joy Perkins co-founded Canva, Inc. in 2012 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer.

The idea for Canva came about when Melanie Perkins was teaching graphic design programs at university and found students struggled to learn the basics. Partnering with co-founder Cliff Obrecht, the pair launched Fusion Books, an online design tool that made it easy for students and teachers to create their own yearbooks. They soon realized that the technology they'd developed could be used much more broadly. After searching far and wide, they launched Canva with tech co-founder Cameron Adams.

Perkins spent three months living on the floor of her brother's San Francisco apartment while taking trips down to Silicon Valley to meet with investors. During the day, she'd use the free WiFi in the mall's food court.