How I Built Resilience: Live with Melanie Perkins and Bill Creelman

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This episode of How I Built This Resilience Edition features Melanie Perkins of Canva and Bill Creelman of Spindrift discussing how their companies adapted to COVID-19. Both leaders emphasize flexibility, customer support, digital transformation, and using crisis as a catalyst for better leadership, stronger culture, and broader social responsibility.

Main Topics: Canva’s pandemic resilience and remote work transition (Priority: 5/5): Melanie Perkins explains that Canva avoided layoffs, remained profitable, and moved entirely to remote work while protecting employee flexibility and community support. Leadership, introversion, and goal-driven entrepreneurship (Priority: 4/5): Perkins reflects on being introverted but able to push through fear when focused on a mission, especially as CEO of a rapidly growing company. Canva’s freemium model and mission to democratize design (Priority: 5/5): Perkins reiterates that Canva’s free tier is central to its philosophy: making design accessible to everyone regardless of economic status, funded by paying subscribers. Spindrift’s channel shifts during the pandemic (Priority: 5/5): Creelman describes a sharp spike in retail demand and a simultaneous hit to food service and convenience channels, leading the company to emphasize e-commerce and omni-channel distribution. Innovation and opportunity during disruption (Priority: 4/5): Creelman argues that downturns can create less crowded markets, lower marketing noise, and new openings for startups and established brands to stand out. Business responsibility and racial justice (Priority: 5/5): Both leaders connect the moment to broader responsibility; Creelman in particular says Spindrift moved from silence to public action on diversity and equality.

Key Arguments: Canva did not need layoffs because it was profitable, had cash reserves, and kept growing during the pandemic. Because Canva was already an online product, the shift to remote work was smoother than for many companies. Perkins believes entrepreneurship begins with solving a real problem well, often starting niche and learning just-in-time. Canva’s free product is a deliberate strategy to ensure global access to design, not just a marketing tactic. Spindrift experienced 200-400% sales lift early in the pandemic, but channel mix shifted away from food service toward e-commerce and big-box/online retail. Creelman argues that crisis can reduce competition and make it easier for innovative brands to get attention and investment. Spindrift concluded it should take a public stand on racial justice after internal discussion, personal reflection, and employee diversity considerations. Both leaders frame the pandemic as a chance to strengthen company culture, social responsibility, and long-term leadership practices.

Data Points: Canva valuation: $6 billion - Announced just before the interview, up from $1 billion in 2019. Canva employee count: more than 900 employees - Perkins references the scale of the company while discussing remote management. Canva user base: 30 million people - Perkins says Canva supports users worldwide for social media, marketing, and education. Work-from-home timing: early March - Canva shifted its team to remote work before government recommendations. Spindrift sales lift: 200% to 400% - Creelman describes the initial surge in demand for shelf-stable products. Spindrift diversity: 32% diverse - Creelman cites internal diversity when discussing racial justice action. Canva onboarding example: 30 odd people - Perkins notes a new onboarding class transitioned directly into remote work. Canva founding year: 2012 - Referenced when discussing the company’s early fundraising and problem-solving origins. Canva user behavior shift: almost overnight - Perkins describes how design usage changed from print-oriented items to digital content.

Pivotal Quotes: "Our safety and well-being is the number one and most important thing at all times." — Melanie Perkins: Perkins explains Canva’s guiding principle for decisions during the pandemic. "We want to ensure that people are able to get heaps of value from Canva and there's no blockers." — Melanie Perkins: She describes Canva’s freemium philosophy and mission to democratize design. "We can do better." — Bill Creelman: Creelman explains the mindset that led Spindrift to publicly address racial justice and internal self-evaluation.

Implications: The conversation shows that resilient brands use crisis to reinforce mission, adapt distribution, support workers and communities, and reevaluate social responsibility. For founders, focus, flexibility, and values can be strategic advantages.