In an Asia-Pacific first, Monash Business School is collaborating with Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), an objectives-based, equity-free program for massively scalable science and technology-based firms, to open its first Australian campus in Melbourne.
The nine-month CDL program offers an objectives-based mentoring process in which scalable businesses learn from the ideas of experienced entrepreneurs in order to maximise equity-value generation.
The Monash Business School will house CDL-Melbourne, which will serve as the focal point for early-stage deep technology businesses in Australia and the larger Asia-Pacific area.
The initiative includes four components to assist enterprises in transitioning to scalable and financeable businesses, including targeted mentoring from industry experts and seasoned business owners who have started, run, and sold large tech companies.
Monash said in a media release that the program will also offer technical guidance from experts in their domains who are world-renowned economists, engineers, and scientists, as well as hands-on support from top students who are embedded within the ventures.
Charlie Nave, Associate Professor of Practice at Monash Business School and CDL-Melbourne site lead said “Australian and regional deep technology ventures will be able to actively engage with some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and scientists.”
Nave added that more than 1,700 firms have completed the intensely competitive CDL program, generating more than AUD 32 billion in equity value across 20 streams, including artificial intelligence, climate change, finance, energy, biotech, health, quantum, and space.
Professor Deep Kapur, Deputy Dean External Engagement at Monash Business School and Chair of CDL-Melbourne said what impressed him was the global scope of the program and the cross-site cooperation to optimise results for initiatives as well as for investors and industry.
Professor Simon Wilkie, dean of Monash Business School and chief economist for CDL-Melbourne, announced the partnership.
“As a business school within a globally-ranked top 50 university, we have an imperative to seek out the most innovative, and value-add initiatives for our students and industry partners,” Prof Wilkie remarked.
He added, “CDL has proven itself to deliver on all accounts and we are delighted to be the first university in the Asia Pacific region to partner with CDL.”
The CDL-Melbourne program will debut at the end of 2023 with the Prime Stream as its initial, non-sectoral emphasis.
Leading early-stage technology-based companies that want to be a part of the program will also be actively sought out over the coming weeks and months by CDL-Melbourne, who will also be actively seeking renowned mentors and subject matter experts.
