💡

InsightHunt

Hunt the Insights

M

Melanie Perkins

Episode #204

CEO & Co-founder

Canva

🎯Product Strategy⚡Execution

📝Full Transcript

13,730 words
Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:00): There's a very famous story about Canva. Early on, you pitched over a hundred investors and over a hundred investors said no to you. Melanie Perkins (00:00:06): It was really clear in my mind that it was the future and I thought the investors were wrong, frankly. But investors also gave really helpful feedback and feedback. Often in the form of rejection, they would say, "Oh, your market's not big enough," and I would say, "It's going to be huge." And I'd add a new page in my pitch deck that said how big the market I believe was, and then they'd say, "You're the same as some of other company." And I would say, "Hey, now I've got a new slide in my pitch deck that shows all the players and the huge gap in the market that we believe we're going to fill." Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:33): One of your values, Crazy Big Goals. I love that as a value. Melanie Perkins (00:00:35): The thing that I love about a crazy big goal is that you feel completely inadequate before it. You want to work really hard to will it into existence. I really like to start by just imagining what is the future that you actually want Right now? I have a wall in my house in my office, which is my vision for what I'd like the world to look like in 2050. Lenny Rachitsky (00:00:52): I heard from one of your team members, Melissa Tan, there's a deck like this for every project you kick off. There's this big vision deck. Melanie Perkins (00:00:59): So we have this concept of chaos to clarity. Every idea starts in the chaos side, and then you have to work all the way to the other side, which is clarity. That very first step at the far end of chaos was quite an embarrassing step actually, because you don't have mastery at that point. You don't have all the answers. Lenny Rachitsky (00:01:14): A lot of people think of Canva as like design graphics for social media and marketing and things like that, but you also have spreadsheets, whiteboards, charts, AI coding tool. Melanie Per...

💡 Key Takeaways

  • 1Adopt 'Column B Thinking': Don't build based on what's currently possible (Column A); build backward from the ideal future you want to exist.
  • 2Turn rejection into product iteration: Melanie used 100+ investor rejections to continuously refine her pitch deck, adding slides to address specific objections until the vision was undeniable.
  • 3Operationalize 'Crazy Big Goals': Break down a massive vision into 'Mission Pillars,' then into yearly goals, and celebrate the completion of each 'rung on the ladder.'
  • 4From Chaos to Clarity: Every product starts as a mess. Use a structured process of writing, visualizing, and prototyping to add clarity at every step.
  • 5The Two-Step Plan: Step 1 is to build a valuable company; Step 2 is to do the most good. Integrate impact into the business model early (e.g., 1% pledge) rather than waiting for the end.
  • 6Close the Loop: Categorize user feedback (Canva processes 1M+ requests/year) and explicitly notify users when their specific requests are shipped.

📚Methodologies (3)

Column B Thinking

by Melanie Perkins

🎯 Product Strategy

Most planning looks at available bricks and asks 'how high can I build?' (Column A). Column B thinking starts with the ideal, perfect vision of the future—regardless of feasibility—and works backward to determine the necessary steps to bridge the gap between today and that reality.

Core Principles

  • 1.Envision the Ideal: Define exactly what the world should look like in 10-20 years (e.g., 'Design is collaborative and online').
  • 2.Ignore Current Constraints: Do not let technical limitations or current skills dictate the vision.
  • 3.Build the Ladder: Create a roadmap of 'rungs' (steps) that bridge the gap from today to that future.
  • +1 more...

"The thing that I love about a crazy big goal is that you feel completely inadequate before it. You want to work really hard to will it into existence."

#column#thinking#strategy
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Chaos to Clarity Framework

by Melanie Perkins

⚡ Execution

A standardized workflow Canva uses for every project. It acknowledges that all great ideas start as 'chaos' (abstract, messy) and requires a deliberate process of adding clarity through visualization and documentation to move toward a shipped product.

Core Principles

  • 1.Admit the Chaos: Accept that the early stage (Concept) is messy and embarrassing; don't judge it yet.
  • 2.Add Clarity Iteratively: Move from Brainstorm -> Written Doc -> Pitch Deck -> Prototype -> Build.
  • 3.Visual Communication: Use visuals (decks/designs) early because ideas in heads cannot be critiqued or built.
  • +1 more...

"How do you go from chaos to clarity? You add clarity."

#chaos#clarity#execution
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🎯 Product Strategy

Instead of viewing 'no' as a dead end, view it as data. With every rejection, identify the specific gap in understanding or market validation, and immediately update the pitch deck or strategy to pre-answer that objection for the next meeting.

Core Principles

  • 1.Decouple Ego: Rejection is feedback on the pitch/product, not the person.
  • 2.Isolate the Objection: Was it market size? Competition? Identify the specific 'why'.
  • 3.Structural Iterate: Add a new slide or change the narrative flow to address that specific objection.
  • +1 more...

"Investors would say, 'Your market's not big enough,' and I would say, 'It's going to be huge.' And I'd add a new page in my pitch deck that said how big the market I believe was."

#rejection-iteration#strategy#product
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