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Archive for Content Entrepreneurs

From Baseball to SamCart

Posted by orlandoam23

· Monday, November 18th, 2024

· 1 Comment

Scott Moran - SamCart | LinkedIn

Scott Moran was just a student at Grove City College when he started experimenting with his future career options. Scott studied marketing and management while in college. Scott’s career all started when one brother said to the other brother, “Hey, I want to sell stuff on the internet.” And just like that, they began to bring to life their ideas. In 2009, Scott and his brother Brian started an online company called Train Baseball. Train Baseball taught the two of them many valuable skills. Each of them learned how to use Facebook ads, control an online company, and overall, learn how to sell. At its best, Train Baseball made around $10k a month. Despite this success, the two brothers still wanted to grow. They began to develop ideas and recruit others to their business. They recognized that they needed employees who were skilled with software developing, so they hired two to help them build SamCart. SamCart was launched in September of 2016. SamCart is an e-commerce company that helps you grow. SamCart is successful because they capitalize on webinar registration. They spend around 25,000 dollars a day on advertising their company. The email lists are constantly growing and providing customers with the opportunity to expand their knowledge with SamCart. The second way SamCart rose to success is their webinar training. SamCart offers educationally packed, and wisdom filled advice for the consumer. At the end of the training, SamCart will be mentioned. This gives the company more advertisement and awareness of their brand. Lastly, SamCart rose because of its digital products. They offer a bundle to enhance customer purchase decisions. SamCart powers entrepreneurs to start their own company, and to do it correctly. Now, SamCart is used by over 75,000 customers who altogether sell more than 2.8 billion dollars in products. From Train Baseball to SamCart the two brothers have certainly put in the work to succeed in their business.

Check out the official website here!

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Categories : Blogging, Building, Business, Business, Sales, Business::Entrepreneurs, Coaching, Content Entrepreneurs, eCommerce, Entrepreneurship

Helping Young People Achieve Their Dreams as an Entrepreneur Who Has Achieved Hers

Posted by Ana Geike

· Friday, November 15th, 2024

· 2 Comments

Erin McGoff was in the midst of getting her degree to American University when she started realizing her talent in professional advising. People seemed drawn to her for help with applying to jobs through resumes, interviews, and beyond, and McGoff enjoyed every minute of it.

However, this prospect was left unexamined as she graduated and became an editor and director of films, including award-winning Amazon film “This Little Land of Mines.” McGoff was supported through winning various awards, including AU SoC Woman of the Year Award and the International Reporting Fellowship award from the Pulitzer Center, and has worked with many mainstream companies, including National Geographic and Google.

However, McGoff saw an opportunity in the surge of popularity with TikTok during the pandemic to fill the gap in a lack of career advice being readily available to those who needed it. She started posting tips on navigating the professional world, including a humorous element to appeal to a young target audience she thought might benefit from such advice as her friends did and which she delighted in as a young adult. Her main channel is deemed AdviceWithErin and exists over several channels, boasting 845,000 followers YouTube and 2 million on Instagram.

Scrolling through McGoff’s YouTube account, users are met with videos detailing anything from “How To: Negotiate Your Salary in a Job Offer” to “How to Deal with a Rude Person (in work and life)” to “Cabin Tour: building a TINY HOUSE (325 sqft) | Update #3,” showing a diverse pool of content that appeals to many different demographics within her target audience of those seeking advice in entering the professional world and those just generally interested in her channel. McGoff is an exemplary example of someone who kept a skillset in her back pocket and acted on it from a mindset of openness and passion whenever she saw an opportunity to do so.

2 Comments

Categories : Blogging, Business, Coaching, Content Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Women Entrepreneurs, Young Entrepreneur

Cary Huang, a Mind Behind Battle for Dream Island

Posted by morganni23

· Tuesday, October 29th, 2024

· 2 Comments

Cary K Huang is a creator whose journey started sooner that most would expect. Cary, in collaboration with his twin brother Michael, created an animated web series called Battle for Dream Island. Their first entry in this series, “BFDI 1a: Take the Plunge” was released to YouTube, beginning the story of the original twenty living objects and the host and establishing that the contestants would battle to win a beautiful island. It did not receive a wide viewership at first, as it was through the steady persistence of their uploads that their audience would grow. Cary and Michael were twelve when the first episode was released on the first day of 2010, and over the course of exactly two years and twenty-four episodes totaling nearly four hours of animation, they gained more than a thousand subscribers.

The fans of Battle for Dream Island and a similar YouTube show known as Inanimate Insanity would come to be called the Object Show Community. This online community, as is the case with others like it on the net, produces large amounts of fan made content. Some may consider the OSC, especially as it exists today, to be a self-sustaining vortex of inspiration, animation, and creativity.

The brothers’ journey in online animation had a good early chapter. It was followed by several false starts in the form of sequel seasons that did not get far off the ground. Through most of his time in high school and college education at Stanford, Cary was too busy to focus on animation. During this time, he was able to experiment with code in some interesting projects. It was not until a flurry of new episodes releasing in 2017 and 2018 that Battle for Dream Island was ready to return, this time with a far larger production team and renewed art style. Following a hiatus that can be attributed to a lack of time at the end of Cary’s college career, Battle for BFDI (aka. BFB) was able to release episodes regularly until it reached its conclusion.

The BFDI team is still active today, and is currently producing the prequel season Battle for Dream Island Again and the sequel season The Power of Two simultaneously. Each new animated episode receives millions of views. Though the world and the scope of their creation has expanded greatly, Cary and Michael’s original vision from when they were twelve years old still persists in their modern efforts.

2 Comments

Categories : Animation, Art, Comedy, Content Entrepreneurs, entertainment, Kid Entrepreneurs, Kids, Male Entrepreneurs, twins, Websites, Young Entrepreneur, YouTube

Tags : #youngentrepreneur, entertainment, Kids, YouTube

Connor Blakley, Founder of YouthLogic

Posted by rhodesgp24

· Sunday, October 13th, 2024

· No Comments

Connor Blakley is the perfect example of a Gen Z entrepreneur – he saw a problem and solved it. His company is YouthLogic, a marketing consultancy that he founded when he was just 15.

While Gen Z might not be the largest generation right now, they still have significant influence and economic impact. They influence $44 billion in just discretionary spending. Blakley realized at a very young age that he can leverage his knowledge about the younger generation to help companies with their marketing efforts. He got the idea for the business while watching his friends scroll through Twitter, noticing how quickly they skipped through content. This made him wonder how companies could change their approach to capture attention.

After doing more research, Connor made several observations that he used to help the way companies target a young audience. First, he claims that there is misconception that we only have 6-8 second attention spans. Rather, he says that our generation is better at detecting marketing on social media, and we skip it faster if it doesn’t bring us value. Second, he says that companies often put generations in a box instead of trying to actually understand them. They should work to create more relatable content. Finally, Connor observed that Gen Z clings to brands that take a radical stance. The younger generation appreciates authenticity and wants to support brands that agree strongly with what they believe in.

Connor started the business when he was 15 and ended up selling it when he was 19. Just recently, however, he reacquired the business and is running it full time. YouthLogic has become very successful, and has worked with brands such as PepsiCo, T-Mobile, Raising Cane’s, and Levi’s.

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Categories : Advertisement, Business, Business, Advertising, Business::Entrepreneurs, Content Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Influencer, Male Entrepreneurs, Marketing

Burger King to Freelance Queen: Alexandria Sims and the Intersection of Personal Vision and Professional Venture

Posted by Ana Geike

· Saturday, September 28th, 2024

· No Comments

Alexandria Sims set out on the journey of her career path as the incarnation of the college student’s worse fear: the picture every student paints in their mind of the life post-college they must succumb to, should they drown under the demands of a courseload which threatens to send their GPA—and future—into an irreparable nosedive. Sims had successfully completed her education at Rutgers State University of New Jersey…only to work at the local Burger King making only $9.50 per hour and consequently facing homelessness and bankruptcy.

After a long, dreary season of slogging through every workday in dreary acceptance of her fate, she took up a freelance writing gig on a site now called Upwork—and the tides turned in her favor. Snatching up every opportunity she could, she began freewriting around her day job, raking in hundreds of dollars every contract she filled. Along with this, she built connections with her clients and began spinning a web of networking that would continue to aid her in the future. “Get to know the right people and you can gain all the connections you want,” Sims advocates. “I met one guy who introduced me to 4 business owners who introduced me to connections of theirs who needed a copywriter and over the years I grew a strong client base.”

This dedication to her craft and growing clientele morphed her career as a reluctant sandwich sculptor at the ‘King into a self-created, self-driven content creator and copywriter of ADS Copywriting, her professional branding spun from her initials as a reflection of this individuality. While ADS is a relatively simple business pursuit, the guiding principles that have driven Sims to success are anything but, and are highly applicable to any business venture.

Needless to say of any business decision, Sims’ success in copywriting did not come without a challenge. Notably, however, much of this challenge was constructed of an intrinsic, personal struggle rather than an external obstacle. “I didn’t anticipate how good I’d actually do and I got overwhelmed. I wasn’t confident and caved under failure,” Sims admits. But Sims grew from this, “becoming a new person, literally”, giving the writing scene a second try through manifestation and reflective self-development with the help of a client who was coach in this area.

The practice of manifestation and trend of self-development can certainly be critiqued by the Christian eye as attempts to self-correct one’s course in life that are ultimately tainted by human err and misguided wisdom. Nonetheless, Sims’ advice can serve as a reminder that external change often begins with an internal change in one’s heart posture, and that God can use obstacles in the course of one’s life to point to the internal footholds which are preventing them from relying on and drawing nearer to Him.

Sims’ plans for her future likewise point towards a more holistic view towards pivotal undercurrents of the young entrepreneur’s life, towards higher education in particular. Sims explains, “I recently enrolled in an online certificate program for Inspired Leadership offered by Case Western University. I have an undergraduate degree from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, but I wasn’t happy with the educational aspect of my college career. I wanted to have some type of certification that I’m passionate about.”

All too often, college shifts between feeling like an exhilarating rollercoaster on an adrenaline high from pushing limits and engaging with others, everything draped in a haze of opportunity and excitement…and a four-year-long, self-induced prison sentence served for the mere prize of a slip of paper certifying one to do more work (yay!). But the intersection of Sims’ personal journey with her professional path demonstrates an attitude of patience, vision, and determination towards the meaning and purpose of career and education that is crucial to lock in on when one loses sight of the attitude God calls one to have in their every pursuit, in business and beyond.

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Categories : Academia, better version of yourself, Bootstrap Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Content Entrepreneurs, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Mindfulness

From Prison to Penthouse, The Explosive Rise of Wes Watson

Posted by batzelcl24

· Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

· 3 Comments

La comitiva de coches que Wes Watson lleva a la entrega de su Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport de 4 millones

Motor16.com. (2023). Wes Watson with his Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://motor16.com

The end seemed imminent for Wes Watson. Busted, arrested, and incarcerated, this California man’s life could have been defined by one word: doomed. The story of Wes Watson is one of incredible transformation, the epitome of reinventing oneself. He took his life of crime and ten years of incarceration, reshaped his direction, and nearly instantaneously forged a multi-million-dollar business empire. A few years ago, he was an inmate; now, he lives atop the world in a Miami penthouse. This is the story of Wes Watson, a man who overcame all odds, turned imminent defeat into victory, and is now thriving at a level comparable to Fortune 500 CEOs.

A millionaire within 18 months, but his story doesn’t start there. Wes Watson was born and raised in San Diego, California, where he embodied the coastal California lifestyle of surfing and skateboarding. At 12 years old, Watson began his journey down what would eventually become disaster, experimenting with marijuana. By the time he turned 14, Wes transitioned from merely using marijuana to dealing drugs, which eventually inclined him towards other illegal activities. Throughout the years, Watson’s involvement in crime escalated, with him frequently partaking in violence. In the end, his lifestyle caught up with him. After a dispute with a customer, Watson was arrested and imprisoned for assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious injury, among other charges, resulting in a 10-year sentence in California prison.

It could have all ended there. Instead, immediately upon entering jail, Watson resolved to reinvent himself. Confinement was the crucible for his self-transformation. Instead of sleeping in, Watson began waking up at 3 AM, a practice he continues to this day. He focused on generating a meticulous daily routine involving physical fitness, discipline, and mindset development. Programming was also huge for Wes Watson. A topic he talks about frequently in his content, programming the mind is one of his keys to producing meaningful results in life. Watson’s strict adherence to programming while in prison earned him the admiration of fellow inmates.

Ten years later, in 2018, Watson was released and was miles away from financial freedom; he had hardly $200 to his name. However, he had something much more valuable: a deeply ingrained sense of discipline and an entrepreneurial plan for domination. In an age when people are pursuing fitness more than ever before, the former Californian prisoner launched Watson Fit, an online coaching business geared beyond just fitness but also to the entirety of life. The market differentiation of Watson Fit was this: it revolved around mindset, rather than a by-the-book workout plan. His philosophy is simple yet powerful: “Do the things you hate like you love them.” This saying of his is basically a proverb when applied to entrepreneurship. Much of his advice resembles the teachings of David Goggins, the American ultramarathoner whose bestseller Can’t Hurt Me is a commonly recommended book for modern entrepreneurs. Watson Fit takes individuals to the next level when implemented. His mission is to make clients the best version of themselves by making self-development a lifestyle. When one reaches the highest levels of self-development, Watson believes that money will automatically flow to them. The company quickly became a hit, attracting clients who not only sought gains in the gym but a complete overhaul of their lives.

One successful entrepreneurial endeavor was insufficient for the high ambitions of Wes Watson. His next income stream was personal branding, in the launch of his YouTube channel, GP Penitentiary Life, where he diffuses raw, unfiltered stories from his time in the prison system, in addition to motivational and gym content. His channel, which caters to the fitness and self-development communities, is a massive hit, with over a half-million subscribers. This led to a surge on Instagram as well, with him boasting nearly one million followers at the time of this article. Having such a large presence on social media allows Watson to monetize not only his posts but also serves as free marketing for his coaching program. What sets Watson apart from influencers in the way he markets his personal brand is his street-level intensity and raw advice on how to better oneself. Sugarcoating life is not something Watson specializes in, and this rawness appeals to his target demographic.

Ultimately, his core philosophy is extreme discipline in the face of competition. He is a strong defender of the belief that in order to achieve a high level of success, one must do what they hate, stepping outside their comfort zone. Suffering is not an option; it is mandatory for people to arrive at the destinations they desire since it yields mental resilience and opens the mind to higher levels of wisdom. In an age when the majority of people take the path of least resistance, his message stands out as bold. His daily routine is a testament to his beliefs; waking up at 3 AM consistently is something most Americans do not want to do. He understands getting up early as gaining a foothold on the competition. But waking earlier than others alone will not get high-aspiration individuals across the finish line. Suffering ought to be encountered in every area of life, according to his philosophy. Rigorous physical fitness, such as performing hundreds of burpees before other prisoners woke up, earned him respect in the penitentiary then and as an entrepreneur now. Lastly, Watson believes that self-love is essential, and that self-investment—in all forms, physical, mental, and spiritual—will forge a foundation of self-respect necessary to accomplishing a flourishing life.

Today, the entrepreneur Wes Watson expands his empire further. He owns mansions in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and Miami, Florida, living an extravagant bi-coastal lifestyle fueled by his profits. The other day he moved into a penthouse in Miami, his third luxury residence. He wears a half-million-dollar watch to the gym, and his supercar collection is highlighted by a bright-orange Bugatti Chiron. His net worth is estimated to be around $30 million. Fortune 500 CEOs get paid as much as the value he has personally created through his mindset. Despite his outward success, he remains committed to his core principles. He still wakes up at 3 AM, constantly seeks self-improvement, and posts loads of daily social media content. To maximize self-development, Watson now brings together groups of like-minded individuals and entrepreneurs who are dedicated to making money and achieving freedom. His success story is not merely one of entrepreneurial triumph but one characterized by breaking free from limitations and creating a lifestyle that incorporates growth in all spheres.

Wes Watson got out of jail just six years ago. Instead of letting his ten-year incarceration define him, Watson is the epitome of an entrepreneur. He creates value and impact through an innovative mindset. His net worth was $200 upon release from California prison, but now he lives a wealthy lifestyle in the beautiful towns of Rancho Santa Fe and Miami, pulling up to the gym in a Bugatti Chiron. He went from prison to helping millions break out of their own prisons by teaching people to do the things they hate. The story of Wes Watson shows that no matter where you start, you can achieve greatness in entrepreneurship if you’re willing to embrace discipline and work relentlessly.

Written by Carson Batzel, 9/23/2024

3 Comments

College Dropout to Millionaire-Ryan Trahan

Posted by bonaquistmr23

· Saturday, September 21st, 2024

· 3 Comments

A Youtuber and Entrepreneur, Ryan Trahan started at 14 to become an entrepreneur. He started a simple water bottle business that would later help make him into a millionaire. Starting his YouTube channel in 2015, Ryan posted about his daily life at college as a student athlete. However, he quickly gained followers due to his creativity and humor within his videos. Having adopted just 30,000 YouTube followers and juggling his business, Ryan was pressured with his college or his business. His school had set a tight rule with him, as a student athlete, making it so he couldn’t brand himself properly while in college. Because of this, Ryan had to choose between a high-risk endeavor or the college route, and he chose the entrepreneurial side. Ryan had the same mindset Peter Thiel speaks of, saying, “I view creating as entrepreneurial. Creating something from nothing has always been ingrained in me.” Thus, his career rocketed. His small water business became a great part of his revenue. The business, known as Neptune, was built to create sustainable water bottles which would reduce plastic waste. With his social enterprise, Ryan also used his business to support several organizations centered around cancer.

While Ryan had Neptune blooming, he also opened up a clothing line called Hydra Collection, which became his personal merch on his social media accounts, as well as another clothing line, Howdy Howdy, and a candy company, Joyride. Creating innovative videos on YouTube and establishing his businesses across the world has made Ryan Trahan into a wealthy, young entrepreneur. From going on live television to creating television series of his own, Ryan meets every corner around the world to grow and engage with his audience.

Ryan is known for his penny-to-a-house series and simply racing people in airports. Through his creative and entertaining work, he has amassed 17 million followers on YouTube with over 3 billion views worldwide!

3 Comments

Categories : Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Celebrities, Content Entrepreneurs, entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Enviornmental, Influencer, Kid Entrepreneurs, Male Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneur, Social Media, YouTube

Emma Chamberlain

Posted by brakmg22

· Sunday, November 20th, 2022

· 3 Comments

Emma Chamberlain is a name that most people are familiar with if they’ve watched videos on the platform of Youtube. She’s an influencer who began her career on Youtube at only 16 years old. An easily relatable high school student, her quirky editing and honest documentation of her life took off in a way that I’m sure she never imagined it would. The fact that she was so honest and open with her life drew a lot of people to her videos, and she proceeded to gain many subscribers. Currently, Emma’s channel boasts 11.9 million subscribers. She used to post frequently, but since her evolution from an influencer to the fashion world’s darling (plus other pursuits), she’s taken to posting perhaps once or twice a month. Of course, she participates on other channels for their content. For example, she recently gave a house tour on Architectural Digest which racked up 7.2 million views.

Today, she is an ambassador of Louis Vuitton and has attended Paris Fashion Week three times. She was also invited to the Met Gala as a host for Vogue. If some people don’t recognize Emma’s name attached to fashion, they may recognize it attached to coffee. She began her own coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, which is committed to giving customers organic, delicious, sustainable coffee in 2019. Her podcast, Anything Goes, began in 2019 as well, in which Emma discusses anything and everything on her mind as the name might suggest.

There has been backlash about Emma and other influencers being invited to what used to be considered “elite events”. In an interview with V magazine, Emma said this about the changing definition of celebrity and what that could mean for the fashion world: “In a sense, the fashion world itself has been around forever and influencers and digital celebrities are very new and haven’t necessarily earned their stripes yet … I understand that kind of discomfort from people who have been into fashion since they were younger (where) maybe it was before this was all a thing and seeing digital influencers come in feels wrong. At the same time, the world of fashion and fame has to evolve in order for it to grow, so this is a natural part of that and it only makes sense.”

Again, this age of media and her soaring success proves that pretty much anyone is capable of doing great things and achieving unthinkable accomplishments if they just put themselves out there. It may seem difficult to think of influencers as typical entrepreneurs, but they are really just investing in themselves as a business. Some do go on to start more normal types of businesses with the platform of followers that they have built.

From a normal high school teenager to walking red carpets, Emma has broken past the typical influencer timeline. Many influencers peak in their careers and face a steady decline. They get invited to less events, make less money, and go viral less often as the viewers move on to the next big thing. Emma chose to go big or go home, branching out as far as she can. It took her far, and as she begins to become more comfortable in the elite fashion world, I can see her carving out a unique niche for herself as a self-made influencer to celebrity.

articles:

https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/b-side/why-is-emma-chamberlain-the-new-face-of-fashion/

https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/emma-chamberlain#:~:text=Emma%20Chamberlain%20is%20a%20content,and%2011.8%20million%20Youtube%20subscribers.

https://thehowler.org/16265/category-5/the-evolution-of-emma-chamberlains-success/

chamberlain coffee:

https://chamberlaincoffee.com/pages/about

Emma’s Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@emmachamberlain

3 Comments

Categories : Content Entrepreneurs, Fashion, Teen Entrepreneurs, YouTube

Johnny Cupcakes

Posted by Kasianideseg21

· Sunday, October 9th, 2022

· 5 Comments

Johnny Cupcakes, an odd name for a bakery. A nickname from co-workers, Johnny Earl has been serving “fresh-baked” T-Shirts across multiple locations for several years now. An entrepreneur from a young age, he started 16 businesses before the age of 16. He has been featured in FORBES, NPR, BusinessWeek, INC Magazine, Wall Street Journal, WIRED, New York Times, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times; and seen on MTV, Bloomberg TV, MAKER, Attack Of The Show, The Food Network, and WWD!

Johnny Cupcakes: A T-Shirt Startup That Gained a Cult Following Through Unique Marketing and Word of Mouth

The idea came when he was creating new designs for the rock band he played for. He came up with the first Johnny Cupcakes design, featuring a skull and crossbones with a cupcake replacing the head. After wearing it in the office, everyone seemed to want one! Johnny began selling t-shirts out of his truck, and focused on customer experience instead of marketing. A known prankster, he loved the idea of “tricking” people into thinking he was running a real bakery!

50 Johnny Cupcakes ideas | johnny cupcakes, johnny, cupcakes

“Our bakery aesthetic is so convincing, that customers are usually convinced they are walking into a bakery expecting to get a cupcake. My inner-jokester still gets a kick out of fooling hungry shoppers. Cupcake or not, customers usually leave with a t-shirt or a great story. However, one April Fool’s Day we sold real cupcakes and hid all of our t-shirts!”

Johnny Cupcakes® Dragon Ball Z on Behance

As he began to assume a cult-like following, he added new and exclusive designs. some would only be available for certain hours! The T-Shirts, which make fun of pop culture and replace known figures with cupcakes, are becoming increasingly popular on social media where they garner the attention of masses.

OFFF16] In Conversation with Johnny Cupcakes • Inkygoodness

For Johnny, customer experience is everything, he hides vanilla scented air fresheners in store locations to mimic the smell of frosting. T-Shirts are placed in vintage refrigerator cases and packaged in pastry containers when purchased. He is known as “The top Innovator in Retail” because of his personal connection to customers. He has been known to show up randomly, and post his location for people to find him. Johnny Cupcakes has hosted movie nights, bowling, roller-skating and more simply for the connection and brand loyalty. Prankster or not, Johnny knows the importance of a strong customer base and uses the connection to his advantage by dialing in to what fans want to see next.

Want to learn more? Check out this YouTube Video

Visit Johnny Cupcakes website here

View their Socials

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Categories : Apparel/Accessories, Business::Sales, Cakes, Clothing, Comedy, Content Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Experience

Creating the Future of Publishing

Posted by Kasianideseg21

· Friday, September 23rd, 2022

· No Comments

Often Entrepreneurship students are asked to think outside the box. To find pain, find the problem and brainstorm a solution. This is the exact formula the creator of Canva, and Aussie native, Melanie Perkins followed. After struggling to create her high school’s yearbook she knew there had to be a better way. She believed that in the future, publishing would be streamlined, and connected through the internet for collaborative work. Adobe and Microsoft were not accessible to high school students. “People would have to spend an entire semester learning where the buttons were, and that seemed completely ridiculous,” she said in one interview.

She told her boyfriend about her idea, and it took off from there. Transforming her living room into an office she began to research and develop her idea. The pair created Fusion Books to start. Students could collaborate online and submit them to a printer. From there they would be delivered to schools all across Australia.

Next, Melanie and her boyfriend-turned-business-partner set their sights on a new goal, Silicon Valley. During a conference in Perth, she was invited by Bill Tai to San Francisco to give a second pitch. There, Melanie had more time to go into detail about Canva, although it didn’t appear to go over well. “I thought that he didn’t really like what I had to say. He was on his phone, and I thought that meant he wasn’t really engaged in what I had to say about the future of publishing,” she said. In reality, he was busy forwarding her information to his contacts. She had great success after building relationships within Silicon Valley.

In 2012, her idea finally came to fruition. Lars Rasmussen, a co-founder of google maps, took an advisory role to help find a developer. The trio welcomed new team member, Dave Hearnden. After their first funding round, they had 1.5 million in investments- they had completely oversubscribed. The Australian government matched that total in a bit to keep the growing company along the native Aussie shores.

The site went live the following year, and revolutionized content marketing possibilities. As of today, Canva has assisted in the creation of over 2 billion designs. They are accessible in over 190 countries and continue their quest to help individuals publish anything, anywhere.

Have you used Canva before? I love using it for everything between Instagram posts and stories to staying organized with school. You can check them out on their socials or visit their website to get started!

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Categories : App development, Content Entrepreneurs, Creating, Entrepreneurship, Women Entrepreneurs