So we don’t know quite as much about Canva as we do SaaS companies that have IPO’d. But we at least know enough to put together 5 Interesting Learnings!
They were $1.7B+ ARR in October, so let’s call it close to $2B at the end of the year, growing 40%+ at that scale –and profitable! (or at least cash flow positive) all just in Year 10 since founding.
That’s … pretty epic.
Canva:
– Almost $2B ARR
– Growing 40%+
– ProfitableAnd … 4,000 employees
That's about $500k in revenue per employee
That's where software really makes money
— Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin 🇮🇱 (@jasonlk) December 19, 2023
5 Interesting Learnings:
#1. Growing Almost 50% as Approaches $2B in ARR
The exact growth rate is based on an The Information report from a few weeks ago, and it seems about right looking at their published metrics. That’s awfully impressive.
Importantly, growth has accelerated this year. Canva hasn’t seen any “macro impacts” to revenue growth, nor have a number of other SaaS leaders that sell in large part outside of tech.
#2. From 60 Million Users in September 2021 to 170 Million in December 2023
It certainly helps that Canva in many ways is as B2C as it is B2B, as it fuels a huge TAM. They crossed 60 million users about two years ago — and have almost tripled since then.
#3. 4,000 Employees, So About $500,000 in Revenue Per Employee
That’s very efficient. Done right, a self-service motion can be very efficient. But not always — marketing costs can often overwhelm the smaller revenue per customer. But Canva is doing it right. The average public SaaS company has now gotten more efficient, to about $300k per employee. But Canva does far, far better, at $500k in revenue per employee. Hence 3+ years of profitability. In 2019, they had 500 employees.
#4. 300 Employees Working on AI
Not a surprise, but interesting to see the scale of investment here.
#5. From $1B Valuation in 2018 to $20B+ Today. Even With Today’s Multiples.
In a world where unicorns are struggling, Canva isn’t one of them. Yes, it may be worth less than its peak 2021 valuation of $40B. But remember it hit a $1B valuation just in 2018. Whether it’s worth $20B today, or $25B, or whatever … that’s still staggering valuation growth even after becoming a unicorn. Many unicorns weren’t worth their valuations. But the very, very best in SaaS? They are still cheap at $1 Billion.
Wow, what a story! And all our 5 Interesting Learnings graphics since inception have been made on well, Canva 🙂
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Jason Lemkin, Khareem Sudlow
