Cliff Obrecht: The Quiet Force Behind Canva’s Design Revolution
Cliff Obrecht is one of the most well-known names in the exciting world of Australian tech entrepreneurship. Obrecht is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Canva. He has been a key player in turning a simple idea into a billion-dollar global powerhouse. Obrecht grew up in the sunny suburbs of Perth. His journey from a college student working on yearbooks to a billionaire innovator is a great example of the quiet determination that makes Australia’s startup scene so special. Obrecht is not only making tools for creativity; he is also changing the way people communicate visually. His net worth is rising along with his partner and co-founder Melanie Perkins.
Early Life: Born in Western Australia
Clifford Obrecht was born in 1985 or 1986 in Kingsley, a quiet suburb of Perth, Western Australia, in the north. Obrecht’s father, Stan, was a dedicated government worker, and his mother, Mary, was a school teacher. They raised him in a home that valued education and public service. This simple setting taught him how to be practical and strong, two traits that would later help him start his own business.
Obrecht was very interested in technology and solving problems from a young age. He went to The University of Western Australia to get a higher education. He graduated with a degree that prepared him for the digital age between 2003 and 2008. He met Melanie Perkins, a fellow student who loved design, while they were both in college. This would lead to a professional and personal partnership. Their shared goal of making complicated tools easier to use was the beginning of what would become one of Australia’s most successful startups.
The Spark: Starting Fusion Books and Canva
Obrecht quickly became an entrepreneur after graduating. He and Perkins started Fusion Books in 2008, when he was only 22 years old. It was an online platform that made it easier to make and print school yearbooks. What began as a way to help non-designers make yearbooks quickly became Australia’s largest yearbook publisher. Obrecht became the Managing Director, where he learned how to run a business, sell things, and grow a business from the ground up.
Fusion Books showed us a bigger problem: the steep learning curve of professional design software like Adobe Photoshop was turning off regular people. Perkins came up with the idea for a drag-and-drop online design tool during a university class after hearing about this. Obrecht saw its potential and became her loyal partner. They officially launched Canva from a co-working space in Sydney in 2012, working with developer Cameron Adams. Obrecht’s knowledge of how to run things made sure the platform’s backend worked well, so Perkins could focus on the product vision and user experience.
The early days were hard. The three people who started Canva had to do it themselves because more than 100 investors turned them down. Obrecht’s determination shone through; in a 2021 X post, he said that he cold-called every school in Australia twice to sell Fusion Books, becoming an expert at getting past gatekeepers like secretaries. This rough-and-tumble sales style worked for Canva, where organic growth and word-of-mouth made it a freemium hit.
Canva’s meteoric rise to building an empire
Canva became a huge success around the world thanks to Obrecht’s operational leadership. The platform had more than 50 million users and had raised $200 million at a $40 billion valuation by 2021, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world. Obrecht was in charge of the company’s growth as COO. This included strategic acquisitions that made the company much more powerful. Canva bought Kaleido (the company behind Remove.bg) and Smartmockups in February 2021. This added AI-powered background removal and realistic product mockups to the platform. These steps were in line with Canva’s goal to “democratize design,” which is similar to how Flourish, which was bought in 2022, made data visualization more accessible.
The numbers showing Canva’s growth are amazing. By 2023, it had $1.6 billion in annualized revenue, 6 million team accounts, and big companies like Intel and Zoom were interested in it. Obrecht’s behind-the-scenes work has been very important for scaling teams across continents, improving cloud infrastructure, and encouraging a culture of innovation. In a talk at the University of Western Australia in 2022, he told people who wanted to start their own businesses to have a “just go for it” attitude. He said that education programs like Canva for Education, which gives schools free access, are empowering the next generation. Canva is Australia’s most successful startup today, with more than 170 million monthly active users. This shows how well Obrecht can combine operational precision with bold vision.
In their personal lives, they are partners in love and business.
Melanie Perkins and Obrecht’s story are closely linked. Their relationship started out as college sweethearts, but it grew into a power couple. Obrecht asked for her hand in marriage in 2019 in the fairy-tale landscapes of Cappadocia, Turkey. He gave her a $30,000 engagement ring. They got married on Rottnest Island, a beautiful place off the coast of Perth, in January 2021. This was a sign that they were going back to their Western Australian roots.
Perkins’ intuitive leadership and Obrecht’s analytical operations work well together to make Canva a success. The couple doesn’t draw attention to themselves; for example, Obrecht keeps his social media private and spends time with his family in their high-stakes world. As of May 2025, their combined net worth is A$14.14 billion, making them the sixth richest people in Australia. Obrecht first appeared on the list by himself in 2020 with A$3.43 billion.
Giving to charity and having a vision for the future
Obrecht and Perkins want to give back outside of work as well. They signed the Giving Pledge in 2021, promising to give at least half of their wealth to charity. They’ve promised more than 80% of their Canva stake to the Canva Foundation, which focuses on education and making a difference around the world. During India’s COVID-19 crisis in 2021, Obrecht led “Aussie Tech for India,” which raised more than $400,000 for medical oxygen supplies with the help of companies like Blackbird Ventures.
Obrecht sees Canva as more than just a design tool; it’s a whole ecosystem for visual communication. He is putting the company in a position to help billions of people by adding AI and expanding into video and data tools. Obrecht’s quiet determination keeps Canva at the top of the list in a world that relies more and more on visuals.
Cliff Obrecht may not want to be in the spotlight, but he has made a big difference. From the suburbs of Perth to boardrooms around the world, he’s shown that real innovation starts with solving real problems, one design at a time. Obrecht’s legacy lives on as Canva grows: a model for entrepreneurs all over the world.