The Canva Story – Part 1 | 230

Summary

Podcast Summary

Down to Business English – "The Canva Story – Part 1" (Episode 230)

Date: November 12, 2022
Hosts: Skip Montreux (Tokyo, Japan) & Samantha Vega (New Plymouth, New Zealand)

---

Episode Overview

This episode kicks off a two-part series exploring the origin and success of Canva, the Australian graphic design unicorn. The hosts, Skip and Samantha, discuss what makes Canva unique, its massive appeal to non-designers, and the story behind its creation. They also delve into the vocabulary and idioms connected to the case study, both to inform and support listeners’ business English development.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What is Canva and why is it significant?

• Samantha’s Workshop Experience

  • Samantha recently attended three workshops introducing small business owners to social media tools. She highlights Canva as especially impressive for its ease of use and integration with platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
    • "I was especially impressed with the image creation tips and tricks with Canva... It seems like a fantastic tool. Very user friendly." (01:07)

• Definition & Purpose

  • Canva is a web-based graphic design tool made for non-designers, offering a drag-and-drop interface and a library of templates.
    • "Canva is a web based graphic design tool for non designers." – Samantha (04:48)
    • "It's just very simple to use. ...If I was a graphic designer who ran a company, I would be worried." – Samantha (05:14)

• Versatility

  • Canva supports design work for presentations, business cards, infographics, flyers, menus, videos, social media posts, and more.
    • "Oh, the sky's the limit really. Presentation, slides, business cards, postcards, infographics, flyers, menus, videos, photo collages, posts for Instagram, TikTok posts..." – Samantha (05:48)

• Ease of Use

  • User interface is described as “very intuitive,” “simple, no nonsense photo and video editor.” (06:13-06:15)

What Makes a “Unicorn”?

• Definition
  • A unicorn is a private company (usually a startup) valued at $1 billion or more.
    • “A unicorn is a private company, usually a startup of some kind, that has been valued at $1 billion or more.” – Samantha (03:20)
• Examples
  • Google and Facebook as early unicorns; others include Airbnb, Reddit, and Buzzfeed. (03:52)

The Canva Origin Story

• The Spark: Melanie Perkins’ Frustration

  • At 18, Melanie Perkins taught graphic design at university and found the standard software (Photoshop, Illustrator) overwhelmingly complex and hard for students to learn.
    • "The idea for Canva came to an 18 year old Australian university student by the name of Melanie Perkins in 2006 and it was an idea born out of sheer frustration." – Skip (06:43)
    • “Students would end up spending an entire semester just learning how to click buttons and not actually design anything.” – Skip quoting Melanie Perkins (07:39)

• Vision

  • Perkins wanted to “take the whole design ecosystem, integrate it into one website, make it collaborative, and offer that service to the whole world.” (07:54)

• The Founders

  • Perkins’ boyfriend (now husband) Cliff Obrecht eagerly joined her mission. Later, Cameron Adams became the third co-founder.
    • “The idea was hers. But she quickly partnered with someone who completely supported her dream.” – Skip (08:09)

• Path to Success

  • The journey from idea to unicorn was not straight and will be covered in Part 2.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Canva’s Disruptive Potential:

  • “If I was a graphic designer who ran a company, I would be worried.” – Samantha (05:14)

• On Unicorns:

  • “A startup being valued at a billion dollars is rare.” – Samantha (03:32)
  • “Although it isn’t as rare today as it was 30 years ago.” – Skip (03:41)

• On User-Friendly Design:

  • “All a user has to do is start from a template, upload their own photos and customize the design as they see fit. By the time you are finished, you have a great design on your hands.” – Samantha (05:24)

• On Initial Frustration:

  • “The idea for Canva came to... Melanie Perkins in 2006 and it was an idea born out of sheer frustration.” – Skip (06:43)

---

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:36 | Samantha describes her social media workshops, mentions Canva | | 02:02 | Canva described as a “hot unicorn” | | 03:04 | Definitions: “unicorn” (business term) | | 04:48 | What is Canva? Samantha explains its core function and advantages | | 05:48 | Versatility of Canva; types of designs possible | | 06:13 | Simplicity and user-friendliness of Canva | | 06:43 | Origin of Canva: Melanie Perkins’ background and inspiration | | 07:54 | Vision for Canva as an integrated design platform | | 08:23 | Introduction of Canva’s founding team |

---

Vocabulary Highlights: D2V (“Down to Vocabulary”)

Each term is defined and exemplified in context of business English. Key item timestamps in parentheses.

• Tick a few boxes (11:06)
  • To fulfill requirements or complete tasks.
• Compelling (12:25)
  • Strongly interesting or convincing; “a compelling story.”
• The sky’s the limit (13:59)
  • No limits to possibility.
• Sheer (frustration/delight/etc.) (15:28)
  • To stress the intensity or purity of an emotion or attribute.
• Come into the picture (16:54)
  • To become involved or relevant to a situation.

---

Tone & Style

Informative and conversational, the episode is both educational and approachable, with both hosts sharing personal reflections and examples. Samantha and Skip balance business reporting with language education for non-native English speakers.

---

Episode Conclusion

The episode leaves listeners anticipating Part 2, in which Canva's path from a simple idea to a billion-dollar company will be explored in detail. Both hosts express newfound respect for Canva and look forward to trying it themselves.

---

For listeners wanting to improve business English, this episode offers a real-world case study, practical vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions, all woven into a compelling account of technological innovation and startup culture.

Transcript

[A]

From Tokyo, Japan and New Plymouth, New Zealand, this is down to Business English with your hosts, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega.

[B]

Hello, Samantha.

[C]

Hi, Skip. How's it going?

[B]

Very well, thank you. Too much to do, but somehow I'm managing to tick a few boxes on a regular basis.

[C]

Good to hear.

[B]

I didn't want to talk to you about something though.

[C]

Oh, what's that?

[B]

The last time you and I spoke, you mentioned that you were about to attend some kind of workshop using social media tools for business.

[C]

Yeah, that's right. It was actually three workshops aimed at small business owners who needed an introduction to using social media.

[B]

Okay, and how were they?

[C]

They were fantastic. I learned all kinds of things about Instagram, mailchimp and Canva.

[B]

Oh, do tell.

[C]

Well, they're all useful tools, but I was especially impressed with the image creation tips and tricks with Canva especially. I was also surprised at how integrated Instagram, TikTok and Canva are and how well they complement each other.

[B]

Oh, that's very interesting.

[C]

Why are you asking about this?

[B]

Well, I hate to admit it, and I am a little embarrassed about this, but until recently I had never heard of Canva.

[C]

That's a little surprising. You, out of almost everyone I know, tend to have your finger on the pulse of the latest trends in tech especially.

[B]

Well, that's nice of you to say, but it completely slipped under my radar.

[C]

Well, if I were to be completely honest, Canva slipped under my radar too. But now that I have had an introduction to it, it seems like a fantastic tool. Very user friendly.

[B]

Canva also happens to be one of the hottest unicorns around at the moment.

[C]

I knew it was a new fancy shiny piece of software, but I didn't know that.

[B]

Would you like to hear the story behind Canva?

[C]

I absolutely would.

[B]

However, there's a lot to go through. So what we are going to do is break today's rev report into two D2B episodes.

[C]

That's a good idea.

[B]

Today we will report on what Canva is and how it all got started. And in part two, we will go through Canva's journey from a small Australian startup company to the giant unicorn that is taking the graphic design world by storm.

[C]

Sounds like a plan.

[B]

So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with the Canva story, part one.

[C]

This may or may not be necessary. Our listeners are quite knowledgeable. But just to be on the safe side, let's define what we mean by a unicorn.

[B]

Ah, good idea. Samantha, tell us, what is a unicorn?

[C]

A unicorn is A private company, usually a startup of some kind, that has been valued at $1 billion or more.

[B]

And why is it called a unicorn?

[C]

Because just like the mythical horse with a horn growing out of its forehead, a startup being valued at a billion dollars is rare.

[B]

Although it isn't as rare today as it was 30 years ago.

[C]

True.

[B]

And can you give us some examples of past unicorns?

[C]

Well, Google and Facebook are two of the original big tech unicorns, but other well known brand names that achieved unicorn status would be Airbnb, Reddit and Buzzfeed.

[B]

Reddit was a unicorn? Oh, I did not know that they were. Now I am sure each of those companies have an exciting story behind their success, but I wonder if any of those stories are as compelling as Canva's backstory.

[C]

Skip, I think it would be a mistake on our part to assume that all of our listeners even know what Canva is. After all, neither of us had heard of it until recently.

[B]

Mmm, I agree with that. Well, you're the one who just took a workshop on Canva. Why don't you tell us what exactly it is or what Canva does?

[C]

Canva is a web based graphic design tool for non designers.

[B]

A graphic design tool for people with no existing graphic design skills.

[C]

And from what I saw in the brief workshop too, well, it became clear to me that it's a very powerful tool. It's easy to see why it has become so popular.

[B]

What would you say makes it such a powerful tool?

[C]

It's just very simple to use. I'll tell you, if I was a graphic designer who ran a company, I would be worried. Right now everything is drag and drop in Canva. There is a library of professionally designed templates to work from. All a user has to do is start from a template, upload their own photos and customize the design as they see fit. By the time you are finished, you have a great design on your hands.

[B]

You sound absolutely impressed. And what kind of design work can you do on Canva?

[C]

Oh, the sky's the limit really. Presentation, slides, business cards, postcards, infographics, flyers, menus, videos, photo collages, posts for Instagram, TikTok posts. It's a huge long list.

[B]

Oh, it does video too?

[C]

Yes, it does video too. At the most basic level, Canva is a simple, no nonsense photo and video editor.

[B]

And not difficult to use.

[C]

Not in the least. The user interface is very intuitive.

[B]

Well, that all makes a lot of sense. It's exactly the type of product the founders of Canva set out to create. A web based tool that anyone could use without having to spend hours and hours learning professional software like Adobe Photoshop or Final Cut Pro.

[C]

Well, they certainly accomplished that. So what is Canva's backstory?

[B]

The idea for Canva came to an 18 year old Australian university student by the name of Melanie Perkins in 2006 and it was an idea born out of sheer frustration.

[C]

Sheer frustration. What was she so frustrated about?

[B]

Well, to make a little extra money, she had picked up a part time job teaching a graphic design course to other students. While teaching that course, she discovered that the design software being used was just way too difficult and too time consuming to learn.

[C]

As someone who has dabbled in Photoshop and Illustrator, I can attest to that.

[B]

Tell me about it. I have taken so many online courses on how to use Adobe products I seem to forget everything within a few weeks of not using the program though.

[C]

Same here. It takes up so much space too. You need to use the software regularly for it to become automatic.

[B]

In media interviews, Melanie often remarks that students would end up spending an entire semester just learning how to click buttons and not actually design anything.

[C]

And this is what gave her the idea to create Canva.

[B]

Pretty much their goal was to take the whole design ecosystem, integrate it into one website, make it collaborative and offer that service to the whole world. Wait a minute.

[C]

Their goal? It wasn't just her.

[B]

Oh no, the idea was hers. But she quickly partnered with someone who completely supported her dream.

[C]

And who was that?

[B]

None other than her then boyfriend, now husband, Cliff Obrecht.

[C]

Aw, isn't that romantic?

[B]

Canva actually has three co founders, Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams, who comes into the picture a little later on.

[C]

So how did they take Canva from the idea stage to the unicorn it is today?

[B]

Well, it wasn't a straight path, that's for sure, and we will get into all of that in part two of this report. But for now, I think it is time for us to get D2V down to vocabulary.

[A]

Do you find down to Business English useful in your English studies? Would you like to support the show? Consider becoming a D2B member today. Down to business English memberships come with three great benefits. First, D2B members receive bonus content in the form of exclusive members only episodes. Second, within moments of a new episode being released, an audio script is automatically emailed to you. There is no need for D2B members to go through the time consuming process of visiting the website, logging into their account, locating an episode, and then downloading the audio Script file. And third, D2B members have 100% access to the entire library of audio scripts all the way from Season one Episode one right up to the most recently released episode. Interested in becoming a member? Just visit the down to Business English website and click on the membership link at the top of the page.

[B]

Just before we get started with D2V today, I would like to ask listeners to be sure to subscribe or follow down to Business English on whichever platform you use to listen to podcasts on.

[C]

Very good idea. Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music Overcast. Wherever you get your podcasts, be sure

[B]

to follow us and while you are there, rate the show and leave us a review.

[C]

Yes, those ratings and reviews go a long way in helping us reach more people just like you. People wanting to improve their Business English listening comprehension skills and vocabulary.

[B]

That's right. We would really appreciate it very much. Okay, first on our DTV list today is the idiomatic expression to tick a few boxes. When you say you have ticked a box, you are communicating that you have fulfilled a requirement or finished a task tick.

[C]

In the introduction to today's episode, Skip mentioned that even though he has been busy lately, he had managed to tick a few boxes.

[B]

In other words, I'm getting a few things done or I'm accomplishing some tasks.

[C]

You could use this expression when you open a meeting with your co workers by saying something like okay everyone, in today's meeting, there are two boxes we have to tick. First, we need to discuss the customer feedback that came in last month. Then we need to decide what step steps we need to take to deal with it.

[B]

Nice. If I was participating in that meeting, I would be very happy that it had a clear, well defined purpose. Too many meetings I attend seem not to have a purpose and end up being just a waste of time.

[C]

Death by meeting I know what you mean.

[B]

What's our next word or expression?

[C]

Next up is the adjective compelling. When something is compelling, it is so interesting that people want to learn more or know more about it. In today's report, Skip described the story behind Canva's success as compelling. In other words, it's a very interesting story.

[B]

There is another nuance to compelling as well. Often you hear about a compelling argument or a compelling answer or even a compelling reason, right?

[C]

Those are common collocations.

[B]

In each instance, compelling communicates strength.

[C]

So a compelling reason is a strong argument that can convince the listener to change their own opinion on the matter.

[B]

That's right. Apple just updated their operating system for Macs. The new OS is called Ventura. Now, I usually wait A couple of months before updating my laptop or my computers to a new os.

[C]

You're not an early adopter?

[B]

No. I use so many third party software applications that I want the bugs to be all worked out in the OS before I update. But with Ventura, there is a compelling reason for me to update right away.

[C]

What is that compelling reason?

[B]

Mac os. Ventura has a new feature that allows you to use your iPhone as a web camera on your computer.

[C]

Ah, that is a compelling reason. The cameras on the latest iPhones are super.

[B]

They are moving on. Let's talk about another idiom. The sky's the limit. You can use this expression to indicate that anything is possible and there are no limitations.

[C]

It's a pretty easy idiom to get a mental picture of. The sky is a vast area way above the earth and it is virtually impossible to reach its limits. At least it was before rocket science came in.

[B]

Even so, that is a good mental picture for the idiom in the story. When I asked Samantha what kind of graphic design work could be done on Canva, she replied by saying, oh, the sky's the limit. In other words, there were so many options that they seemed limitless.

[C]

Speaking of rocket science, I see that Elon Musk has finally acquired Twitter.

[B]

Yes, that is right. We will probably do a story on that in the not so distant future.

[C]

Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter. Think what you want about that man, but it sure seems that the sky's the limit for him. He is successful at almost everything he gets involved in.

[B]

I don't know about that. I think it has a lot to do with the people he has put in place at Tesla and SpaceX. Especially SpaceX.

[C]

Well, you need to give him credit for that at least.

[B]

True. What's next?

[C]

Next is the adjective sheer. Sheer is is most often used to describe an emotion or some kind of characteristic or personal quality.

[B]

Like sheer beauty or sheer happiness or sheer delight.

[C]

Yes, those are good examples. Sheer emphasizes the importance and power of the quality or emotion in the story. Skip told us that the idea of creating Canva came out of Melanie Perkins sheer frustration with Adobe graphic design software.

[B]

In other words, her frustration was very, very powerful.

[C]

Yes. Can you give us an example? In a business context?

[B]

What immediately comes to mind is Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, AKA Meta. Do you know how much money that man has lost this year?

[C]

I know that Meta's stock price has fallen, but I don't know how much over.

[B]

Over the last year, shares in meta have plunged 74% and Zuckerberg's personal fortune has plummeted by $100 billion.

[C]

Ouch. And what is driving that?

[B]

Wall street thinks Zuckerberg's vision of the metaverse future of the Internet is sheer nonsense.

[C]

Ah, see what you did there. There. Good example. A painful example, but a good example too.

[B]

Our final item on D2V today is yet another idiom. Wow, so many idioms in English. Anyway, this idiom is to come into the picture. When you say someone has come into the picture, you are saying that he or she has become involved in the situation. In the story I mentioned that Cameron Adams, the third co founder of Canva, came into the picture later.

[C]

In other words, he became involved in the startup at a later point in time.

[B]

Precisely.

[C]

Now that nuance is in the case of a person, if something comes into the picture, that thing must be dealt with.

[B]

Can you give us an example of that?

[C]

The housing market here in New Zealand has entered a bit of a downturn recently.

[B]

Oh, is that right? I've always been under the impression that New Zealand's housing market is quite strong.

[C]

It has been over the past ten years or so. But once inflation came into the picture and housing loans and mortgages became more expensive, housing prices began to fall.

[B]

Hmm. A compelling reason not to sell one's home at the moment.

[A]

Would you like to support down to business English? Help D2B reach more people wanting to improve their Business English skills? Be sure to subscribe to down to Business English on Apple podcasts or any place podcasts are found. While you are there, why don't you leave a rating and a review down to Business English Business News to improve your Business English.

[C]

Thanks for the report on the origins of Canvas. I look forward to part two of the Canva story.

[B]

No, thank you Samantha for explaining to us what Canva is and your experiences with it. I'm pretty eager to try it out.

[C]

I look forward to experimenting with it as well.

[B]

Everyone, don't forget to follow down to Business English and rate the show and leave a comment or give us a review in Apple Podcasts or whichever platform

[C]

you listen to podcasts.

[B]

It would help the show a lot if you could do that. Samantha and I will be back very soon with part two of the Canva story. Thanks for listening everyone. See you soon.

[C]

Take care.

[A]

Have a comment or question about today's show. Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip Des or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply. Down to Business English Business News to improve your Business English.