Inside the deal: Canva co-founder and investor talk about how their partnership came together – StartupSmart

Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins and Blackbird Ventures managing director Rick Baker shared how their investment partnership emerged at a Silicon Dragon network event in Sydney last week.

The online design platform launched just over a month ago, and already has 80,000 registered users. The team raised $3 million prior to launch from a range of investors.

Perkins, whose first investor was Silicon Valley-based Bill Tai, talked about how she approached the pitches, how it’s evolved over time, and how she positioned Canva to be an attractive investment opportunity.

Baker shared why they were happy to break their investment rules for Canva, and how the relationship works now.