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Jeremy Wyatt jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000
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Inside This Edition
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What Does It Mean to Be ‘Bonded’?
2. 3.
Cracking the ‘No’ Code
Step Into 536: ‘The Worst Year to Be Alive’ The Start of a Global Graphic Design Empire
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According to the Small Business Administration, nearly 627,000 businesses open each year, but at the same time, around 595,000 businesses close for good annually. Further, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics research states that 45% of new companies go out of business within their first five years. It’s no surprise that building a successful business is easier said than done, but once in a blue moon, an entrepreneur breaks the mold to reach new heights. We saw it with Jeff Bezos and Amazon, Bill Gates and Microsoft, and now, we’re watching it happen with Melanie Perkins and Canva, an online graphic design tool. While most tech startups originate in Silicon Valley, Canva’s inception took place on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Born in 1987 in Perth, Australia, Perkins first tasted entrepreneurship as a teenager. She designed and sold scarves to shops and markets across her hometown at 14. A few years later, she enrolled at the University of Western Australia, where the idea for Canva was born. Needing extra cash, Perkins worked as a tutor, teaching fellow students how to use graphic design programs. It often took months for them to learn the basics; not only were the programs difficult to use, they were also expensive! She wondered if there was a way to How Melanie Perkins Founded a Global Unicorn
create a graphic design program that was simple, affordable, and easily accessible online. Perkins took her idea to her boyfriend, Cliff Obrecht, and the two determined that the initial concept for Canva was too ambitious. Instead, they started smaller by creating Fusion Books, an online school yearbook design business. They
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