Canva’s rise as a design platform wasn’t just about building an easy-to-use product—it was about building a global network of creators, educators, and advocates. As Canva began targeting enterprise adoption, the company leaned on those existing communities and networks to accelerate growth.

The Challenge

While Canva had millions of individual users, scaling into enterprises came with new hurdles:

• 📊 Decision-makers didn’t always see Canva as a “serious” enterprise tool.
• 🧑‍🎨 Designers within companies sometimes hesitated to champion it internally.
• 📥 Cold outreach to enterprises wasn’t yielding high response rates.

To overcome this, Canva needed a way to build credibility and shorten sales cycles—without losing its community-first DNA.

The Networking Shift

Instead of relying solely on outbound campaigns, Canva doubled down on its most powerful asset: its user community. By encouraging referrals, amplifying community voices, and partnering with design educators, Canva transformed existing relationships into enterprise opportunities.

What They Did

• Empowered Advocates: Canva gave power users and design educators tools to introduce Canva to their organizations.
• Referral-Driven Growth: Enterprise leads increasingly came through existing designers already using Canva at work.
• Community Partnerships: Canva worked with design networks and professional groups to showcase enterprise use cases.

The Results

Within the first year of this approach, Canva saw:

• 🚀 45% increase in enterprise signups directly attributed to referrals.
• ⏱ Faster deal cycles, as warm intros from designers built instant trust with decision-makers.
• 🌍 Global adoption at scale, with Canva entering large organizations across multiple regions.

Enterprise clients noted that Canva felt less like a “new vendor” and more like a platform already embraced by their teams.

The Takeaway

For Canva, growth into enterprises wasn’t about aggressive sales—it was about turning communities into networks of trust. By investing in referrals and warm introductions, Canva proved that networking can be as powerful as advertising.

For other SaaS companies looking to move upmarket, the lesson is simple: your biggest advocates are already in your network—empower them.