Dalhousie University’s CDL Atlantic, part of the internationally noted Creative Destruction Lab network of startup accelerators, has opened applications for its 2023 cohort, including a general stream, dubbed Prime, and a bluetech stream, Oceans.

The nine-month program, founded by University of Toronto management professor Ajay Agrawal and now with operations in six countries, is milestone-based and does not charge founders a participation fee or take equity. The programming is aimed at seed-stage companies.

"The perfect CDL applicant is one that arrives with a great technology and a terrible business plan," said Agrawal in a statement. "CDL is a process, not an event. It’s about changing a start-up’s trajectory."

The program is divided into a series of five meetings over nine months, with an emphasis on founders setting and then meeting key growth objectives. Participants are mentored by experienced entrepreneurs who have founded and sold "significant" companies. Mentors who participated in previous CDL Atlantic sessions have inlcuded figures like Clearwater Fine Foods billionaire and prolific venture capitalist John Risley and Jevon MacDonald, former CEO of Manifold and GoInstant.

Interested founders can learn more and apply here. The deadline is July 28.