Get To Know Puja Malhotra, Founder of Roop Creative Agency | Canadian Business Owner Spotlights by Kelsey Reidl, Marketing Consultant.
Meet Puja Malhotra!
Founder of Roop Creative Agency,
where founders and service-based business owners come to build a brand and website that actually works.
Welcome to our Canadian Business Owner Spotlight Series hosted by me… Kelsey Reidl (Business & Marketing Consultant).
In this series, I'll be catching up with the most talented, generous & inspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in Canada & beyond.
Enjoy learning more about these wonderful humans, and give them a ‘follow’ or get in touch in order to collaborate with them + work with them.
-Kelsey
The TL;DR for Puja Malhotra of Roop Creative Agency.
Puja Malhotra is the founder of Roop Creative Agency, a boutique brand identity and website design studio serving founders and service-based business owners across North America.
With 18+ years of industry experience and hundreds of brand launches, she works as a brand strategist first and designer second, handling strategy, design, and web build in-house.
A joint 40 Under 40 honoree from the Aurora and Central York Chambers of Commerce, she also co-hosts the Well Circle Back podcast and mentors early-career designers through Designer Dates & her Corporate Dropout Program.
Okay, let’s get to know Puja!
Name
Puja Malhotra
Profession / Title
Brand Strategist & Founder
Business Name
Roop Creative Agency
Industry / Niche
Brand Identity, Website Design, Strategy for Founders and Service-Based Business Owners
As well as Mentorship for Creative Business Owners.
My Business Was Founded In
October 2016
Current Location
East Gwillimbury, Ontario (I usually say York Region)
3 words you would use to describe yourself…
Ambitions.
Grounded.
Unapologetic.
Tell us more about your business
Roop Creative Agency is where founders and service-based business owners come to build a brand and website that actually works — a strategy mindset paired with intentional design, every single time. Every design decision is backed by real strategy, so what we build together holds up, converts, and grows with you.
My clients find me through referrals, and that's grown significantly in the last few years. When I started looking for new ways to bring in leads, I realized the answer wasn't external — it was internal. I needed to actually nurture the women already saying my name in rooms I'm not in. I've built my own table instead of fighting for a seat at someone else's, and that means the work speaks for itself before I even show up. Beyond that, people find me through Instagram, where I share real client transformations and brand education, and through Google, where my content on brand strategy and website design brings the right people to me. No ads. No funnels. Just the work.
Every project moves through real brand strategy and workshopping, design, and a full website build — all handled in-house. Outside of client work, I run two mentorship programs: Corporate Dropout, for creatives making the leap out of corporate and building something of their own, and Designer Dates, for brand and web designers in their first five years who want direct, no-fluff guidance.
In one or two sentences, what specific problem does your business solve for your clients?
I help founders build a brand and website that becomes their business's solid foundation, so every bit of marketing, content, and growth strategy they do actually works.
Recent milestone you've celebrated in your business
Being honoured with a joint 40 Under 40 award from the Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Central York Chamber of Commerce, and being a guest on 20+ podcasts this year.
What is a recent investment you’ve made in your business
Over the past year I made three investments that all pointed the same direction: streamlining my systems so I could spend more time on the creative and client work I actually love, hosting small dinners to bring together past clients and women who inspire me (turning my network into real friendships, not just contacts), and hiring a copywriter to review and refresh my website copy.
That last one came during a hard season, navigating a second trimester loss, when I needed support I couldn't give myself in that moment. I'm a brand strategist, and I can usually see where my own design needs improvement. But I also know when I'm too close to something to see it clearly, and that's exactly when a fresh set of eyes matters most.
What changed after that investment? Why do you see it as an investment, not an expense?
The systems work gave me back time I now spend on actual creative and client work instead of the tasks that can run without me. The dinners turned my network into something that grows stronger relationships, not just referrals, and that always comes back to the business tenfold.
And working with a copywriter on my website gave me language that finally sounds like who I am now, ten years in, after everything I've learned and grown through. All three gave me something money can't buy back: time, real relationships, and communication that actually connects. That's not an expense.
That's what let me feel grounded in my business again while I was grieving something enormous in my personal life.
What would you tell a new entrepreneur who's considering investing in the same thing, but is hesitant?
Don't wait until you feel steady to invest in support. I made some of these calls while I was grieving, not after I'd healed from it, and that's exactly when I needed the help most. Whether it's systems, relationships, or getting a fresh set of eyes on your own words, the return isn't always immediate, but it compounds.
My dinners started as a few nights of covering the bill for people I respected, and it's already come back tenfold in relationships and referrals. You don't need to wait for the "right" time.
You need to trust that investing in the things that let you show up as yourself is never wasted.
Now for some fun stuff!
Always…
Always be honest with yourself, and your clients. And have strong contracts that outline this all. In the end it makes everyone happy.
Never…
Never commit to something that sucks your energy.
Advice for other entrepreneurs, who are slightly less far along…
Rejection is just feedback. I never see it as a no, I see it as building something better. Early on, that's the hardest thing to internalize, but it's also the thing that will carry you the furthest. If a client rejects a concept you love, or a strategy doesn't land the way you hoped, that's not the end of the idea.
Sit with it, adjust, and trust that what you build next will be stronger for it. And don't stay stagnant. If something doesn't feel right, pivot. Change it. See what happens. You can always pivot right back if it doesn't work. The entrepreneurs who make it aren't the ones who get everything right the first time. They're the ones who keep adjusting instead of quitting.
What is a tool, resource, podcast, book or person you’ve invested in that’s added value to your entrepreneurial journey
Honestly, ten years in, there have been so many people, podcasts, and books that have shaped how I think. But I've also learned to move in seasons. There are times I need those outside voices, and times I need to put all of it down and just listen to myself. Right now, I'm in a season of the second kind. I don't want more external input.
I want to look inward and get clear on where I'm actually headed. My advice, especially to someone earlier in the journey: put down the book, take out the headphones, and ask yourself how you can inspire yourself today. Build something that works for your business, not just something that sounds good in someone else's.
Favourite way to wind down after a long workweek
Time with my son, and husband, I love to cook a nice dinner and just chill, not do anything.
Before starting my workday, I make sure to…
Meditate, have my coffee (or warm drink of choice) and sit in the sun for a little while, even 5 mins … leaning more into my spirituality since my loss to let meditation guide my day.
Best part of my work is…
The transformation. Watching the person who walks in becomes the person who walks out — not just elevated in their business, but standing in it with actual confidence.
Last vacation you took (and where did you go)
Punta Cana, we recently had a 2nd trimester loss, and I just wanted an escape where I didn’t have to think or make decisions.
