Full transcript

The online design software Canva has more than 130 million users around the world, but it wasn't obvious 10 years ago that the Australian startup would one day be a runaway hit, valued at $40 billion. Just ask CMO Zach Kitschke, who was employee number five. He was hired to do communications and marketing, but also wound up being tapped to lead customer service, product, HR, and even food prep for a time.

"When you're working towards a mission like that, it's just like, okay, one step after the other, this kind of relentless pursuit of trying to get there," Zach recalls. "There were weeks early on where it was this kind of desperate exercise of, how are we going to get the next five users, 10 users, 50 users? And it felt like that went on for a long time."

In this episode of Building Better CMOs, Zach talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about how Canva got started, why he strives to avoid chasing marketing buzzwords, and how Canva is re-aligning its products to embrace AI. They also discuss the benefits of working with a professional coach, and why you should say yes to opportunities that are outside your comfort zone.

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Links:

• Zach's LinkedIn
• Greg's LinkedIn
• Greg's Twitter

This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm.