Melanie Perkins, Founder & CEO of Canva
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Every issue delivers concise, repeatable insights into how top entrepreneurs approached their toughest decisions, shaped winning strategies, and turned critical moments into lasting advantages. Whether you’re running a scrappy small business or the next unicorn, this is your shortcut to the leadership frameworks and strategic playbooks that matter most.
Now, let’s dive into this week’s episode.
Picture this.
It's 2011, and there's a 24-year-old woman from Perth, Australia, desperately trying to learn kitesurfing on a beach in Maui.
The wind is howling, waves are pummeling her, and frankly? It terrifies her.
But she's not there for fun.
She's there because some of the world's most powerful tech investors happen to love this extreme sport, and she needs their money to build what she believes will be the future of design.
This woman has already been rejected by over 100 investors.
They've told her that her idea is too big, that she's too young, that nobody from Australia could possibly build a global tech company.
But Melanie Perkins has something her rejectors don't understand yet: an unshakeable belief that the world's most complex problems often have beautifully simple solutions.
The woman getting battered by those waves would eventually serve 185 million users across 190 countries, become one of the youngest female tech billionaires in history, and run a company worth $40 billion.
But first, she needed to survive that kitesurfing lesson.
Want to hear the full story? This article just scratches the surface of Melanie’s remarkable journey. Listen to the complete episode of Inflection Moments to discover the deeper insights about decision-making, strategic thinking, and what it really takes to build something extraordinary while staying true to your principles.