Melanie Perkins on Hiring

Co-founder & CEO at Canva

15 insights8 categories

Co-founder and CEO of Canva, which she started at age 19 and grew into a $40+ billion design platform used by over 170 million people. One of the youngest female CEOs of a tech company valued over $1 billion, and one of Australia's most successful tech founders.

“I started Canva from Perth, Australia. No one thought you could build a world-class tech company from there. But it forced us to hire differently — we couldn't just poach from Google. We found extraordinary people who hadn't been given a chance yet, and they became our best hires.”

Melanie Perkins started Canva at 19 from Perth, Australia — about as far from Silicon Valley as you can get. That geographic disadvantage became a hiring advantage. She couldn't poach from Google or Meta. She had to find extraordinary people who hadn't been given a chance yet.

"No one thought you could build a world-class tech company from Perth. But it forced us to hire differently. We found extraordinary people who hadn't been given a chance yet."

Perkins hires for mission obsession above everything else. Canva's mission — democratizing design so anyone can create professional content — isn't just marketing copy. It's the primary hiring filter. If a candidate doesn't genuinely care about making design accessible, their skills are irrelevant.

"I hire for mission obsession. Mission-aligned people work harder, stay longer, and make better decisions when no one is watching."

The hiring process reflects this. Every candidate does a practical exercise that mirrors real Canva work, and collaborative elements test how people work with others, not just how they perform solo. Perkins looks for natural builders — people with side projects, creative pursuits, and an inability to leave problems unsolved.

"The best teams aren't built from all-star individuals. They're built from people who genuinely enjoy working together toward a shared goal."

One of her most distinctive hiring beliefs: don't limit your search to the obvious places. Some of the best people in the world aren't in the usual talent markets, and they're often more motivated because they've had fewer opportunities to prove themselves. Canva's global team is proof that this approach works at scale.

Philosophy

Core beliefs about hiring and talent

Perkins built Canva from Perth, far from Silicon Valley, which forced her to think differently about talent from day one. She couldn't rely on the usual networks and brand-name pedigree. Instead, she hired for mission alignment and raw capability — and discovered that this produced better teams than optimizing for credentials.

I started Canva from Perth, Australia. No one thought you could build a world-class tech company from there. But it forced us to hire differently — we couldn't just poach from Google. We found extraordinary people who hadn't been given a chance yet, and they became our best hires.

I hire for mission obsession. If someone doesn't genuinely care about making design accessible to everyone, I don't care how talented they are. Mission-aligned people work harder, stay longer, and make better decisions when no one is watching.

The best teams aren't built from all-star individuals. They're built from people who genuinely enjoy working together toward a shared goal. Chemistry matters as much as capability.

Hiring Process

How they structure interviews and evaluations

Canva's hiring process is mission-first. Every candidate, regardless of role, is evaluated on whether they genuinely care about democratizing design. The process includes practical work samples and collaborative exercises that mirror how Canva actually operates.

Every candidate does a practical exercise as part of our process — something that mirrors real work at Canva. Not a trick question or a pressure test, but a genuine sample of what the job actually involves. It's the most predictive thing we do.

We include collaborative elements in our interviews. We want to see how someone works with others, not just how they perform solo. Some brilliant individual performers are terrible collaborators, and we'd rather find that out before they join.

Interview Questions

Questions they ask candidates

Perkins's questions focus on motivation, creativity, and whether candidates think in terms of user impact rather than personal achievement. She wants people who obsess over making design accessible, not people who obsess over their career.

What would you build if you had no constraints? No budget limits, no technical limitations, no approval needed.

Tests creative ambition and whether someone thinks in terms of user impact.

Tell me about something you created outside of work — a side project, a tool, anything you built because you wanted to.

Perkins looks for natural builders who create things because they can't help it.

What's the most complex thing you've ever had to make simple for someone else?

Directly connected to Canva's mission of making design accessible.

What They Look For

Traits and signals that excite them

Perkins looks for people who are builders by nature — people who create things in their spare time, who solve problems because they can't help it, and who get genuinely excited about making complex things simple.

People who build things in their spare time. If someone has side projects, open-source contributions, or creative pursuits, it tells you they're intrinsically motivated. They don't just work for a paycheck.

Candidates who talk about their work in terms of user impact rather than personal achievement. 'We made it possible for small businesses to create professional designs' resonates more than 'I grew the team by 50%.'

Dealbreakers

Warning signs that concern them

Candidates who are more interested in the company's valuation than its mission. Perkins considers this a reliable signal that someone will leave when a better financial offer comes along.

People who are more interested in Canva's valuation than its mission. If the first questions are about equity and exit timelines, they're optimizing for the wrong thing and will leave when a better offer comes along.

Candidates who only want to work on greenfield projects and dismiss maintenance or iteration. At Canva's scale, most of the work is making existing things better. If someone only wants to build new things, they won't be happy here.

Signals to Watch

Subtle cues they pay attention to

How candidates talk about users. The best Canva employees talk about users with empathy and specificity — the small business owner, the student, the nonprofit. Weaker candidates talk about users as abstract metrics.

Frameworks

Mental models and structured approaches

Mission-first hiring: put mission alignment as the first filter, not the last. If you wait until the end of the process to check for mission fit, you'll fall in love with skills and rationalize away misalignment.

Interviewer Tips

Practical advice for running interviews

Don't limit your talent search to the obvious cities and networks. Some of the best people in the world aren't in Silicon Valley, and they're often more loyal and more motivated because they've had fewer opportunities to prove themselves.

Look for talent in non-obvious places. The person in a small city who has been building incredible things without recognition may be more motivated, more loyal, and more creative than the person with the perfect pedigree in San Francisco.

Frequently Asked: Melanie Perkins on Hiring

Interview questions Melanie Perkins is known for asking candidates.

What would you build if you had no constraints? No budget limits, no technical limitations, no approval needed.+

Tests creative ambition and whether someone thinks in terms of user impact.

Tell me about something you created outside of work — a side project, a tool, anything you built because you wanted to.+

Perkins looks for natural builders who create things because they can't help it.

What's the most complex thing you've ever had to make simple for someone else?+

Directly connected to Canva's mission of making design accessible.

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