MBA students gain real-world experience with Creative Destruction Labs-Rockies

How well a company commercializes its innovations can often determine its success, and being a part of a business venture’s growth though Creative Destruction Labs-Rockies (CDL-Rockies) is an opportunity University of Calgary alum Denis Streltsov is grateful for. 

For Streltsov, the hands-on experience offered by a partnership between CDL-Rockies and the Haskayne School of Business was a highlight of his time at UCalgary. The objective-based mentorship offered at CDL-Rockies helps science and technology-focused startups commercialize their ideas, while also giving MBA students the chance to apply their skills through the innovative CDL course offered through the program.    

“It’s about being able to take all those learnings from the classroom and apply them in a real-world context to a company,” says Streltsov, MBA’24.   

Each cohort of students spends time with CDL-Rockies, working directly with business mentors, receiving guidance and help with their objectives. In return, MBA students work with the businesses supporting the CDL program, assisting with delivering on company aims.  

Streltsov has progressed from being a mechanical engineer looking to enrich his career through Haskayne’s Executive MBA program, to becoming a venture leader for CDL-Rockies, aiding future grads. He sees it as coming full circle, giving back to the program that gave him so much.     

“It’s really cool to see the inner workings of CDL because I now see how much goes into managing the program that I got so much out of,” he says.    

Program combines in-classroom learning and hands-on experience     

Choosing Haskayne for his Executive MBA was a no brainer for Streltsov; he was drawn to the unique opportunity of the CDL course, where he learned from accomplished mentors and collaborated with ventures to tackle business challenges.   

For him, it was always about more than just getting a degree.   

“You get to know how people want to work in teams, what kind of roles they like to take, and how to get the most out of the team,” Streltsov says. “That was probably one of the biggest things I learned.”   

The combination of classroom and experiential learning is intended to give students an idea of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. “Overseeing our students' participation in the CDL program, I have seen how this unique experience cultivates their entrepreneurial mindset by learning alongside founders and expert mentors driving real-world change," says Dr. Kanwal Bokhari, MBA’16, DBA’23, a Haskayne assistant professor who is responsible for design and delivery of the CDL course.    

Training gaps identified  

While working as an engineer, Streltsov noticed business-training gaps that he felt needed to be filled in order to have a better understanding for the management side of his career.    

“I was interested in the strategy, operations and understanding why we do a project and the business aspects around it … moving away from purely technical roles,” he says.  

Developing go-to-market strategies, cost assessments and competitor analyses were part of Streltsov’s world during his time in the CDL course. “The company was going to make decisions based on my recommendations, that’s when it became real-world to me,” he says. 

Mutual ventures and student-learning opportunities    

While in the CDL course, Streltsov had the chance to take part in key aspects of delivering company growth.    

From performing an assessment on where to build the company’s first commercial scale facility, to executing a customer decision journey model — a project he was very proud to accomplish — Streltsov really left his mark. “The customer decision journey model describes the process customers undergo before many any big purchase,” he says. “In the context of graphite, it involves interactions with different potential suppliers, building on the completed market analysis.”  

Benefits go beyond students 

The CDL course not only benefits students, but also CDL-Rockies ventures themselves. Terra Vera is an agricultural company that was a part of the 2023-2024 cohort, and has two MBA students supporting their business objectives.   

Co-founder and CEO Carlos Perea says CDL-Rockies played a crucial role in the evaluation of the company.

“The process of giving the two MBA students enough information, structure and guidance to be helpful is, in and of itself, a healthy return on investment,” he says.    

Applications open for fall cohort    

Streltsov says the CDL course gave him an advantage in the workforce, helping him build practical and people skills.   

“I could see that people saw value in my work, so it provided that extra level of engagement,” he says.  “With my engineering experience, it has helped me get to where I am today.”   

Applications for the 2025-2026 UCalgary CDL course are now open, with more details on how to apply on the webpage.