We are unapologetically curious.
Where the curious meet the leaders shaping the future. Global thought leaders, Canadian business leaders and innovators, and the communities where trust is actually made. Politics-free, and unapologetically curious.
The show
The show, and why it is coming back
The first episode
Canada was full of innovators nobody was talking about.
100+ conversations
Founders, operators, authors and thinkers, asked the questions everyone else was too polite to ask.
Life required it
Thank you to everyone who kept downloading.
And now, we are back
Same curiosity, sharper lens.
CanInnovate started in 2017 with a simple premise: Canada was full of innovators nobody was talking about, and the best business thinking in the world was locked inside conversations most people never got to hear. Across three seasons and more than 100 episodes, the show sat down with founders, operators, authors and thinkers, and asked the questions everyone else was too polite to ask.
We paused because life required it. Thank you to everyone who kept downloading through those years. And now, we are back.
In 2027 it returns with the same curiosity and a sharper lens. Artificial Intelligence (AI) now handles the ordinary. The extraordinary still comes from people who build, decide and connect. Those are the people we want on the show, and we want to give them another platform to make some noise, bring awareness, and build understanding.
From the archive
Listen to the back catalogue
More than 100 conversations from the first three seasons are still live. New episodes will publish to the same feeds, so a follow today carries into 2027.
3 Secret Ingredients of Branding
His story is a riddle that I couldn't wait to get the solution for.
Find Flexible Talent & Work Environments
Jennifer is the Founder and CEO of tellent and is on a mission to make work, work better for women.
Empower entrepreneurs to build better businesses and change the world
This week, I sat down with Keith Ippel, the CEO & Co-founder of Spring.
Driving change during a downturn
A global Organizational Change Management guru on leading change when times are tough.
COVID-19, The Adult 'Time-Out' is a Gift
COVID-19 is always on our mind, it's what everyone is talking about.
How to beat procrastination and be productive during the pandemic
Paul Minors is a productivity blogger and virtual consultant.
Explore your curiosity during COVID
Are you finished baking and looking for other ideas to entertain yourself? I have the perfect guest.
Could COVID-19 actually kill Narcissism?
As we all embrace and adjust to the 'New Normal', the impact on humankind is going to be instrumental.
7 Tips on how to deal with overwhelm
Life is always a rollercoaster!
8 Secrets of Strong Women
Everyday is Happy Women's Day!
Season two
What’s ahead
Season two brings the leaders shaping the future: global thought leaders, Canadian business leaders and innovators, and the communities where trust is made. Along the way, some past guests return to tell us what happened next. Some episodes will be recorded live with the R.O.A.R Table in the room, asking their own questions.
Every conversation is 30 minutes or less. Every guest is asked what advice they would give their younger self. And every episode ends the same way: one tip, best practice, book, travel destination, inspiration or piece of wisdom to take with you.
Same feeds, same curiosity, sharper lens.
Who it is for
- The curious, the ones who read the footnotes.
- Thought leaders, and the people who argue with them.
- Innovators building something real, in Canada and beyond.
- ROARers, wherever you are in your R.O.A.R Framework™ journey.
- Leaders who want to hear from other leaders, without the spin.
And anyone who needs a little inspiration. Sapna's name means dream in Hindi, after all.
And anyone who does not mind the sound of Sapna's voice. She has been told it grows on you. She has also been told it is a nice voice. You pick.
What we talk about
Three conversations, on repeat
Where are they now
Past guests come back. What happened next, and what they learned along the way. Some of it serious, some of it just fun.
Designed together
The communities and collaborators designing new ideas and solutions with each other. The same thing Sapna's courses teach: get connecting, get talking, and build it together.
The landscape
What is changing in the world, and what it means for the people building things here. Risk, made interesting again. Trust, but verify.
Who sits across the mic
Three kinds of guest
Global thought leaders shaping the world
People with an idea that is changing how work, trust or leadership gets done, and who can tell us who disagrees with them.
Canadian business leaders and innovators
Founders, operators and executives building something real from Canada, willing to talk about what worked and what did not.
Communities worth knowing
The chapters, circles, networks and rooms where professionals actually help each other. If your community does something a LinkedIn group cannot, we want to feature it.
Get involved
Four ways in
Every new guest is verified before booking. It is a show hosted by the author of Trust, But Verify, so consider that a feature.
Apply to be a guest
You have a point of view, a story with a lesson in it, and a public record. Communities of 500 or more members apply here too.
Know someone? Recommend them
Let them know people want to hear from them. Tell us who and why, and we will reach out directly.
Past guests, welcome back
You are already verified. Skip the queue. We cannot wait to hear about your adventures since we last spoke.
At the R.O.A.R Table?
Ask your questions of these leaders directly, before we record or live at a taping.
The bar
What we look for
We look for
- Leaders at scale: CEOs, founders and executives of organizations with 50 or more employees, board directors and chairs, policy voices, and recognized authors. Canadian brands especially welcome
- A point of view you can defend, and the people who disagree with it
- One failure told without spin
- A public record we can check: a LinkedIn profile that matches your story, and one third party source
- Something listeners can do differently on Monday
- Communities of 500 or more members, active for at least a year, with a named leader and a public page
We decline
- Early stage ventures without customers, a team and a public record yet. Apply when you have all three
- Product pitches dressed as interviews
- Applications sent by a publicist on your behalf
- Generic advice with no story attached
- Anything we cannot verify
With the seat
What guests receive
Once you are confirmed, this is what comes with the seat.
The episode, and the assets
Published on Apple, Spotify and the feed, with two short clips and a quote card for your own channels.
The newsletter
A feature in Probe & Ponder that carries your best answer to a community of senior professionals.
Your open roles
If you are hiring, your job postings go to R.O.A.R Table members the week the episode releases.
A seat at the table
A guest seat at one R.O.A.R Table live session, to meet the people who asked the questions, and a signed copy of Connect the Dots.
Other benefits
For your community and your team, shared with you on acceptance. More to come as the season takes shape.
About ten minutes
Apply to be a guest
Takes about ten minutes. Communities apply here too; choose "Community leader" on the first question. Past guests, choose "Past CanInnovate guest" and skip the rest. We read every application and reply within 14 days.
Two minutes
Recommend a guest
Two minutes. We will contact them directly and mention you if you would like us to. A recommendation does not skip verification, so recommend people you would vouch for.
A two way conversation
Sit at the table
CanInnovate is a two way conversation. Members of the R.O.A.R Table send questions to upcoming guests before we record, join live virtual tapings through the year, and ask their questions live. It is the shortest distance between a senior professional and the leaders shaping their industry.
Joining requires a LinkedIn profile and a valid credit card.
- The monthly live session
- The members only room
- Questions to guests before we record
- Live virtual tapings through the year
Stay in the know
Be first to hear when season two drops
Be first to hear when season two drops, who is on it, and when the live tapings happen.
Podcast updates come through Probe & Ponder, Sapna's free newsletter. Register once and you will hear about new episodes, live tapings, and more.
Partnerships
Partner with the show
If your organization wants to sit beside the leaders shaping the future, in front of an audience of senior professionals, there are three ways to do it.
Founding presenting partner
Named in every episode, on the page, with a guest seat, a hosted R.O.A.R Table session and category exclusivity.
Episode partner
Named in one episode, with a guest seat for your executive and a credited clip.
Community partner
Associations and professional communities that share the show with members, in exchange for a member offer.
Partners never choose guests, questions or topics. The show verifies partner executives like every other guest, and is politics-free.
Your host
Sapna Malhotra
CMC · CPA · ICD.D
Sapna Malhotra, CMC, CPA, ICD.D, is a Board Director, Fractional Transformation Executive, and Advisor focused on AI, governance, trust, risk, and complex transformation, and the Principal and Founder of Digiruptor™, a practice working at three altitudes. With boards, designing oversight and accountability. With executive teams, closing the gap between policy and practice. And with the people doing the work, building the human skills AI cannot replace.
She is the creator of the R.O.A.R Framework and author of Connect the Dots, now in its second edition. Her next book, Trust, But Verify, examines AI governance and board oversight. She serves as a director on the boards of Kinvia and CMC Ontario.
The human translator between risk & reward.