Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is seeking applications from motivated venture founders in the process of building the world’s most promising science and technology startups who could benefit from mentorship, technical advice and the opportunity to raise capital.
The nonprofit organization’s mission is to accelerate the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind. CDL runs a nine-month, objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and tech-based companies in 15 streams at nine sites across the globe.
More than 4,000 founders from over 1,700 companies have already participated in CDL since 2012, and CAD $8 billion in equity value has been created through the program. CDL does not charge any fees or take equity.
Five key elements help venture founders transform their projects into scalable, financeable companies:
- Objective-setting, which guides companies to focus on what’s most important to their business;
- Focused mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs who have founded, led, and sold significant tech companies;
- Technical advice from world-leading scientists, engineers, and economists;
- Hands-on support from top business students;
- Opportunities to raise capital, including from angels and venture capitalists in Europe and North America.
Objective-setting is the most important pillar of CDL’s program. CDL Mentors, Fellows and Associates, meet with founders every eight weeks at CDL Sessions to assess a company’s progress and choose new objectives for the next eight weeks. Each of these sessions immerses founders in a community of accomplished entrepreneurs with the judgment required to build massively scalable companies.
Applications are due July 30 for the 10th annual cohort, which will start in October 2021.
What alumni have said about CDL:
“A whole slew of investment meetings that we had over the last few months were a direct result of the connections we made at CDL.”
— Ewan Reid, CEO of Mission Control Space Services (CDL-Space ‘20)
“CDL was like rocket fuel, where the mentors helped us expand the vision for our company to a broader value proposition that was transformational. Mentors helped us finalize the Minimum Viable Product of our software in the most effective way possible, and we were connected to several customers that accelerated the smooth launch of our product into the market.”
— Liz O’Connell, President and Co-Founder of Arolytics (CDL-Rockies ‘20)
“CDL has been an incredible experience that has made our company much stronger, positioned us for rapid growth and made me a better CEO. The focused expertise in the Oceans stream and access to exceptional mentors, scientific advisors, and investors provided an unparalleled level of knowledge and insight, while the objectives-based goal-setting forced us to accomplish the milestones needed for success.”
— Julie Angus, CEO of Open Ocean Robotics (CDL-Atlantic ’20)
Applications are now open for all sites and program streams:
- CDL-Atlanta is home to CDL’s Commerce stream, which develops companies in areas like retail and CPG at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business in Atlanta, Georgia;
- CDL-Atlantic, at Dalhousie University’s Rowe School of Business in Halifax, Nova Scotia, runs programs in Prime (CDL’s general stream) and a specialized Oceans stream;
- CDL-Montreal, located in a city with one of the largest concentrations of artificial intelligence researchers in the world, runs streams in AI and Supply Chain at HEC Montréal;
- CDL-Oxford, the first CDL site in Europe, hosts CDL streams in AI, Climate, Health and newly-launched FinTech at University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School;
- CDL-Paris is seeking applications for its Climate stream, situated at HEC Paris in the French capital;
- CDL-Rockies, located at Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, assists founders with Energy, Ag, and Prime (general) streams;
- CDL-Toronto, home of the first-ever CDL site at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, hosts eight streams: AI, Blockchain, Health, Prime (the general stream), Neuro, Quantum, Space and Matter;
- CDL-Vancouver runs three streams, Prime (general), Health and Climate, at the Sauder School of Business at University of British Columbia;
- CDL-Wisconsin, which is a partnership with American Family Insurance and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hosts founders for CDL’s Risk stream.
Apply Now Sign Up For An Info Session
Learn more about CDL’s streams and locations. Contact admissions@creativedestructionlab.com for more information.
