Chen Fong
Founding Partner, CDL-Rockies | Director, Calgary Scientific
Health
For founders pursuing commercial opportunities predicated on translational science and technology innovations that improve human health and wellness
CDL Health helps technical teams bring their human health innovations to market through the advice and guidance of accomplished entrepreneurs, experienced operators, doctors, scientists, engineers, and investors.
CDL Health is suited for startups focused on improving the quality, speed, cost, or accessibility of health care, in service of preventing, diagnosing, or treating medical conditions or improving the operational efficiency of the medical community. This program is tailored towards early-stage companies (early venture or growth) or even projects (pre-incorporation) that have a prototype or key early validation data on their technology; however, startups of all maturity levels will be considered.
Accepted startups attend up to five sessions between October and June to sharpen business objectives, prioritize time and resources, potentially raise capital, and engage with experts working on the frontiers of research.
CDL is a non-profit organization. There are no fees for participation, and CDL does not take any equity. Learn more about the CDL program.
CDL Health offers specializations at specific locations:
CDL Health also offers a general Health stream at:
Where should I apply?
Startups can be a fit for multiple streams and locations listed above. When deciding on where to apply*, consider the following:
- Stream specialization – each site has a curated set of mentors to support specialized technologies and applications. Check out the mentors in each stream to learn more about the people you could work with and receive expertise from.
- Geography – every site will have some in-person sessions, which require founder(s) attendance. Consider which sites you would be willing to travel to when listing your preferences.
For more information or to schedule an introduction meeting with the CDL team, email health@creativedestructionlab.com.
* (i) Multiple streams and sites can be selected and ranked in the order of preference during the CDL application process.
* (ii) Cancer-related companies are welcome to apply to any CDL stream across the network. The CDL Cancer program, in partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society, is offered at CDL-Toronto and CDL-Vancouver.
Our Mentors
CDL mentors include accomplished entrepreneurs, experienced operators, active angel and venture investors, world-leading scientists, engineers, and technologists. Mentors meet every eight weeks to help founders set objectives over the program’s nine-month duration. Mentor and venture relationships are built through CDL-engineered interactions and, in some cases, extend beyond the program through ongoing advisory roles.
See all Health mentors ▶︎
CDL Health operates out of the following locations. For more information or to schedule an introduction meeting with the CDL team, email health@creativedestructionlab.com.