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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
We are a dedicated institute for student entrepreneurs across campus and beyond. We aim to maximize your success by fostering your entrepreneurial mindset, promote inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide support for the creation and development of your new ventures. Jumpstart your ideas and get involved today!
Tune in for excitement!
Passion. Potential. Pitches. Don't miss any of the 2025 New Venture Challenge excitement.
Tune in Friday, April 11 at 1 p.m. for great ideas and fierce competition. Then, join the judges, mentors, spectators and teams as they see who is going home with thousands of dollars in venture financing. The awards broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and one team will walk away as the overall best venture.
Start your entrepreneurial journey
Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration is the home of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship and the first Department of Entrepreneurship in the state of Michigan. We are a student-centric hub where experiential, curricular, and external entrepreneurial opportunities intersect.
Our mission is to maximize student success by fostering a campus-wide entrepreneurial mindset that promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of new ventures.
We aim to create innovative programming, boost cross-campus and ecosystem collaboration and provide a comprehensive mentoring program.
Our institute provides extracurricular opportunities and is open to all undergraduate and graduate CMU students.
Student opportunities
- Meet experienced alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and other business and political leaders.
- Learn practical skills, innovative thinking, and connect with mentors and entrepreneurial resources.
- Attend skill-building workshops and compete in pitch competitions and Hackathons.
- Take part in special scholarship programs and travel experiences.
- Pitch your venture at our signature New Venture Challenge event and compete for up to $20,000 in cash awards.
Find your path
Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?
Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.
Artist LaKela Brown Celebrates Black Culture Through the Language of Sculpture
by
Ann Kucera
If you’ve traveled through Charles V. Park Library on campus recently, you may have noticed that the Baber Room Gallery has been consistently rotating in new and exciting exhibitions by nationally and internationally- acclaimed artists and sharing artwork representing diverse voices and approaches to creating.
The newest exhibition, Foraged, is by Detroit native and Brooklyn-based artist LaKela Brown. Brown is a critically acclaimed artist, shown in museums and galleries nationally and internationally and receiving acclaim in top art journals such as Art In America and the New York Times Art Review. The New York Times recently listed LaKela Brown as one of the top artists to view at the New York Armory Show. Brown’s thoughtful work takes inspiration from ancient languages and challenges traditional notions of the still-life while featuring and celebrating Black American cultural artifacts. Using ethnobotany and objects of adornment derived from Black culture, the works in this exhibition reference the history, nourishment, and movement of a people while simultaneously becoming their language and intentional act of care and resilience.
Foraged is on view from November 13, 2023- January 14, 2024, in the Baber Room Gallery inside Charles v. Park Library. LaKela Brown will be on campus giving an artist talk in the Sarah & Daniel Opperman Auditorium on November 15th at 6:30 pm. A reception will immediately follow the artist's talk. The exhibition, artist talk, and reception are free and open to the public.
Image info: African/American Still Life, Bouquet No. 1” Plaster and Wooden Dowels, 8”x4”x4”, 2023
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
