Building Better CMOs and Marketing Leaders

Zach Kitschke, CMO of Canva: Design For Everyone

Jul 12, 2023

CMO of Canva, Zach Kitschke, shares insights on Canva's journey to success, avoiding marketing buzzwords, embracing AI, and the value of professional coaching. They discuss seizing growth opportunities, democratizing design, brand building, AI evolution, and the challenges of rapid company growth. The conversation also touches on adaptability in hiring, team culture alignment, and the benefits of saying yes to new opportunities.

50:37

Creator website

Episode guests

Zach Kitschke

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Opportunities outside one's comfort zone foster growth and learning in marketing roles.

Building a strong company culture enhances teamwork and aligns goals with the mission.

Admiring product-centric companies like Apple and Airbnb can inspire innovative strategies and values in marketing.

Deep dives

Focus on Opportunities and Growth

By saying yes to opportunities that come along, marketers can gain exposure to different challenges, learn, and grow. Prioritizing what the business needs can lead to valuable experiences and insights, even if they lie outside one's comfort area. Embracing such opportunities furthers personal and professional development.

Introduction

2min

Canva's Journey to Making Design Accessible

20min

Canva's Brand Building and AI Evolution

7min

Navigating Rapid Growth in Companies

10min

Emphasizing Adaptability and Change in Hiring Processes

3min

Discussion on team culture and alignment through seasonal meetings

2min

Building a Strong Company Culture Alongside Product Excellence

3min

Embracing Opportunities for Growth

4min

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

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