Deep (Tech) diving into the HEC Paris Creative Destructive Lab

If there's one program that's long overdue for a spotlight, it's the Creative destruction Lab (CDL). While the CDL-Paris program at HEC Paris only started back in 2021 with one stream: the Climate stream, it has established itself as the benchmark program for tech entrepreneurs in just a couple of years. Designed for researchers, whose scientific breakthroughs may turn into a world-changing business, the program is offered in partnership with the Creative Destructive Lab (CDL), well-known for the market for judgment approach of its founder Ajay Agrawal. 

Worldwide, the CDL operates 13 sites in partner universities across Europe, North America and Australia, and 24 specializations, called streams, in specific technologies: Climate, Health, Neuro, Energy, Blockchain/Web3, etc. So far, the program has supported 2,300 companies and accounts for $28B+ of equity value created by graduate ventures.

Today, through the CDL, HEC Paris helps tech entrepreneurs specialized in three streams: Space, Climate and IA. A couple of weeks ago, the second session of the Climate stream, delivered in collaboration with Schneider Electric, and of the AI stream, run in partnership with the global algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets, took place – the perfect occasion for us to give you a tour of the program.

Taking deep tech and the world challenges very seriously at HEC Paris

Why choose these three specific themes? Aymeric Penven, Director of the Deep Tech Center at the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, states that:

Selecting these streams felt natural as they are completely aligned with HEC Paris’ DNA, and its mission to support entrepreneurs willing to have a lasting impact on both the economy and society.

Today, climate issues are on every lip. They impact all sectors, and force organizations to rethink the way they do business. On the same level, AI has become a powerful enabler, which is and will inevitably challenge many industries. About the Space stream, delivered in collaboration with the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Tech, and Said Business School, University of Oxford, the Director of the Deep Tech Center at HEC Paris explains: “Space may not be an obvious choice, but it is. Our economy is highly dependent on space, but people tend not to realize it. Be it using your sat nav or looking at the weather forecast, many of our daily moves are making use of satellites and space infrastructure, without even mentioning their use for environmental monitoring, disaster management, or in agriculture…”

Targeting impact tech startups

At HEC Paris, we like to think that the Creative Destruction Lab is one of our most groundbreaking programs. What makes it so original lies in many of its non-of-a-kind aspects. Unlike most HEC Paris programs, which expect candidates to directly send their application, the CDL operates a subtle pre-selection process, called the scouting phase. Our CDL team identifies within each stream the most critical topics for the future, and then reaches out to entrepreneurs positioned on these thematics throughout the world. 

To give you an idea of these subjects, the CDL Climate currently supports startups operating in:

• The future of information storage in order to replace data centers, by data storage on synthetic DNA for example.
• The replacement of petrochemical products with bio-based alternatives.
• The monitoring of biodiversity.

About AI, entrepreneurs are working on brain-machine interfaces, developing tools to control objects by thought. Another example is also the use of generative AI for the medical and pharmaceutical industries to design new molecules for new drugs, and thus speed up creation and time-to-market.

The last CDL Climate and AI sessions, which took place a couple of weeks ago, have once again been the scene of lively and enriching exchanges.

Apart from their specialization, startups applying to the program get selected according to the quality of the technology, their team, etc. And once enrolled in the program, they benefit from a new approach to enterprising research and innovation.

The CDL experience: 9 months, 5 sessions, multiple objectives to achieve

In terms of pedagogy, there is nothing else like the CDL program at HEC Paris. The program shakes up tech startups founders for the best. Each of the 80 selected deep tech science and tech-based startups participating in the CDL-Paris’ streams gets eight months to put their idea to the test. Nine months punctuated by 5 sprint sessions, themselves divided into three decisive stages:

• The ‘deep diving into problems’. A handful of mentors assess the latest progress of a startup, and challenge it in a constructive way in order to suggest the next three priority objectives, to be achieved by the next sprint.
• The plenary session. The 40+ mentors debate on the three set objectives to reach an agreement. This gives the founder, who witnesses the whole exchange, a precious external view from highly experienced entrepreneurs, experts, and investors.
• The deliberation. Behind closed doors, mentors volunteer to dedicate some of their time to help a startup meet its objectives.

Following the sprint sessions, founders can rely on both the support of the mentors and of HEC Paris MBA students to help them meet their objectives.

High level mentoring: The engine behind the program

The program would not be what it is if it wasn’t for the 100+ dedicated mentors, who act as an advisory board for the startups. Mentors come from different walks of life, but each and every one is recognized for their expertise. Among them, experienced entrepreneurs, who have sold one or more startups, investors from the HEC Paris ecosystem, professors, researchers, scientists, economists and tech experts, mostly affiliated with CDL partner’s universities, and industry experts, such as C-levels, CEOs from big corporations, etc.

Beyond their caliber and high expertise, the mentors excel in their advisory role while being honest, direct but most importantly benevolent. What is striking at CDL-Paris is also the alchemy between the mentors that the team has witnessed since year one. “To make it work, our mentors need to be able to challenge the startups naturally, with a good spirit and in a pleasant atmosphere. This is exactly what is happening at every single session,” points out Aymeric Penven.

A recipe which works and might expand as HEC Paris is considering operating new streams in the near future.

About a less distant future, the next HEC Paris CDL session will take place on the 25th and 26th of April, with a focus on Climate and AI.

Stay tuned for more news about the CDL-Paris at HEC Paris program.