The human side of AI: Canva on community, connection, and small business growth
Lorna Bladen, Canva’s SMB Community Manager, shares her insights on how AI is changing the way founders work, network, and build their brands. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience supporting UK small businesses, she explains why human connection, authenticity, and community remain essential in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Can you tell me about yourself? Your background and why decided to move towards Canva?
I started my career at StartUp Britain, right at the heart of the UK’s small business movement, and most recently I was CMO at Enterprise Nation, one of the UK’s biggest small business networks. I’ve had more than 15 years in the startup space, helping founders find the tools, support and networks they need to grow.
I was an early adopter of Canva, using the platform for over a decade before I joined the company, and I saw early on how much of a game changer it is for small business owners. So the chance to join Canva with a focus on small businesses across content, product, community and events felt like a natural fit. Whatever we’re working on, I come at it with one question: what does this mean for founders of small businesses – and how can I support them?
As AI takes over more routine tasks, why do you think human relationships remain so important for founders and small business owners?
Founders trust other founders. You can show a small business owner the slickest demo of a new AI tool and it won’t land, but what does is another founder saying “this worked for me, let me show you how.”
Most of us are learning AI together right now and that learning happens through people. When we ran AI Week for Small Businesses in September, more than 2,000 founders signed up for six free sessions, from AI Without the Overwhelm to an in-person evening for female founders in Shoreditch. The mood was curious, a bit cautious, but still ready to learn. So in the world of AI, please don’t forget to build human-to-human relationships. AI can free up time, and my advice is to reinvest some of it in the people around you.
Have you seen networking change as AI tools become more common in business, and if so, how?
Yes, and in a way I think it’s made networking more human. AI means anyone can send a well-written message now, so a well-written message on its own no longer stands out. What does stand out is when it’s clearly written for me: why you’re getting in touch, who it’s for and what you can offer.
I see it in my own inbox. I get a lot of approaches, from events up and down the country to really niche communities, and I can’t say yes to everything. The ones I say yes to are the ones where I can instantly see the fit. Earlier this year a conference organiser in Milton Keynes got in touch, and it wasn’t somewhere we’d normally think of running an event. But it was hyper personalised – clear who’d be in the room and why it mattered for small businesses there, so I thought, actually, how cool would that be? It’s now part of the Canva World Tour.
What role does authenticity play in building a personal brand when so much content can now be AI-generated?
I think there’s actually more opportunity to be authentic in the age of AI. When polished content is the norm, your voice, your story and your values become your edge when building a brand. People buy conviction, so it’s worth knowing and owning your story first and foremost.
It’s no secret that founders love creating from scratch but are famously bad at delegating – no one can be brilliant at legal, tech and product all at once… That’s where AI’s value comes through, as a multiplier. Use it for the parts of the business you aren’t as strong at, so you can protect the work that carries your brand and spend more time on what you’re passionate about.
The founders I see doing this well have a personal brand that sits naturally alongside their business brand. It’s why we’re running a session, ‘Build Your Personal Brand with LinkedIn’, as part of Canva World Tour.
For founders who are naturally introverted, what are some effective ways to build meaningful professional relationships?
You don’t have to work the room every time; a handful of meaningful conversations is far more useful to a founder than a pocket full of random business cards and no real connections.
If you are overwhelmed by the prospect of networking face-to-face (as many of us are), then online communities like WhatsApp groups, virtual sessions, and founder forums are also a great place to start and let you build those relationships at your own pace.
Borrow confidence until you grow your own! Watch and learn from someone who you think does it brilliantly and follow up with them for advice.
Sharing what you know works too. Run a workshop or share how you’re using AI and where it hasn’t helped, and people will come to you. In the small business world, sharing knowledge is what has got us this far.
What’s one networking mistake you see small business owners making, and what should they do instead?
Leading with the pitch. I’ve seen plenty of tech businesses walk into a room of founders and go straight into a product demo, and it’s a real turn-off. Start with the problem the person is trying to solve, whether that’s raising funds, managing cash flow or hiring.
The other mistake is treating a first meeting as the end of the conversation. People are busy, so make it easy for them to say yes. Show up, follow up, be a good human, and the rest tends to follow.
Why are events like the female founders evening (AI Girl Gang) so important?
Because the AI gap isn’t only about technology. JPMorganChase research found that by 2025, AI adoption sat at 19.7% among male-owned small businesses compared with 17.2% for female-owned ones. The research points to structural barriers like time, confidence and concerns about data privacy and trust.
That’s why AI for Female Founders, which we ran with Dr Lauren Ingram and AI Girl Gang during AI Week for Small Businesses, was so important. It was designed to close that confidence gap together, with practical use cases founders could put into action straight away, shared by women building with AI themselves.
Many have criticised AI for its harm to the environment and human relations. What would you say to founders who are environmentally conscious or who have safety concerns around using the technology?
Those are the right questions to be asking. Be intentional with AI and use it where it genuinely adds value. Choose tools from companies that are open about how they build and use AI and read the data and privacy policies. This way you stay in control of how and when you use it.
Be conscious of your environmental impact too; AI is brilliant when it’s genuinely saving you time or solving a problem, but it’s easy to slip into using it by default for things you could do just as quickly yourself. So before you reach for it, remember to ask why. That habit is better for the planet and for your business.
Anything else?
One thing I’m advocating for is making sure founders outside London get the same opportunities as those in it. Your postcode still shapes your odds as a founder: a business in Shropshire, where I grew up, is far less likely to hear about events, programmes and support than one in Shoreditch. Businesses in all areas of the UK and Ireland should have access to the same opportunities, and that’s something we can all help to change.
That’s why we take our events out across the UK and Ireland and work with communities already on the ground rather than starting from scratch. There are a few ways to get involved:
- Come to one of our free events! Canva World Tour runs throughout October from Belfast and Cardiff to Milton Keynes and Manchester, with webinars running online too so you don’t need to be near a venue to join in.
- Join the Canvassador community, which we’re looking to grow into new regions towards the end of the year. Keep an eye out if you’d like to represent your local business community.
- Reach out and tell me what you need; I speak to small business owners every day about what Canva could do more or less of to support them regardless of where you’re based, in the UK or Ireland.
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