Structured support for the founders building what comes next
Infrastructure gets you a bench. A program gets you a path. But the work that matters most starts earlier – with how you see.
CoLabs runs two in-person programs for early-stage founders working in applied biology and deep tech. Each is built for a different moment in the journey, and both begin from the same idea: that the way we see the world shapes what we build within it.
So before the prototypes and pitch decks, we help you cultivate a mindset – challenge-led, systemically attuned, complexity-informed – that treats the world as a web of relationships to work with, not a set of objects to optimise. From that way of seeing comes a way of building: design thinking, systems thinking and regenerative principles, applied to create interventions that genuinely matter and help move us toward a more viable future.
It’s why we believe the most important ventures of the next decade will be bio-based, bio-led, and designed to work with living systems rather than against them.
Our Programs
Kinesis
Our Pre-Accelerator 20 weeks / LaunchVic-backed / PC2 lab-enabled For founders at the very beginning – before the solution is fixed, when the real work is making sure the problem is worth solving. Kinesis is a structured, Biodesign-led pre-accelerator that moves you from a hunch to a validated venture, with built-in lab access and ecosystem connections. Best for: Victorian founders, researchers and technical innovators at the earliest stage.
Impact Program
Our Venture Development 6 months / In-person / Small cohort For founders who know the problem is real and need to build something worth funding. The Impact Program combines startup fundamentals with systems thinking, life-centred design and regenerative enterprise principles – a deeper, hands-on journey with an optional pathway to keep building alongside us. This includes six months of access to our lab and/or office space at Notting Hill. Best for: founders with an idea that they want to build into an MVP for pre-seed, ready to commit and iterate in the real world.
Not sure which one?
It’s a fair question – they share a lot of DNA. The short version: Kinesis is where you go to find out if you’re building the right thing. The Impact Program is where you go to build it well. Many founders move from one to the other. If you’re genuinely unsure, get in touch and we’ll help you find the right door.