It's September, and that means football finals - time to separate the contenders from the pretenders, as they say. 

It's no different when hunting for opportunities on the ASX, particularly when it comes to the innovators - those companies pushing boundaries, reshaping industries, and trying to become the market leaders of tomorrow. 

But as every investor knows, backing innovation isn’t as simple as spotting a good idea. For every success story like Pro Medicus or Life360, there are countless others that never quite make the leap, leaving investors nursing losses. 

So how do you tell the difference between a genuine innovator and a pretender? And what signals should investors look for when trying to back the next big thing? 

To answer those questions, Lvewire's Chris Conway is joined by Martin Hickson from 1851 Capital and Steve Johnson from Forager. Together, they run the ruler over a handful of ASX innovators. 

For good measure, each guest shares a disruptor they are backing that has massive upside potential - provided they can nail it. 

Please note this episode was filmed on 27 August 2025.