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.

2025 NVC Competition Live Stream

2025 NVC Awards Live Stream

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.

A student standing with a faculty member holding big winning checks from the New Venture Challenge 2024.

Start up

Build up your venture idea.

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A student smiling and standing in front of his venture display at the 2024 New Venture Challenge.

Family business

Explore the Alternative Entrepreneurial Pathways category at NVC.

Learn more

A close-up of the Prusa i3 MK3 printer in the entrepreneurship makerspace, the IDEA Den in Grawn Hall 166.

Product and prototype design

Create and patent your ideas.

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Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

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CMU community invited to participate in strategic planning process

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Efforts to develop Central Michigan University’s next strategic plan are officially underway, and members of the university community will have several opportunities to participate in its development in the months ahead.

CMU President Bob Davies said gathering input from students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners is vital to the plan’s success. The Strategic Planning Team will hold targeted engagement sessions with multiple stakeholder groups, as well as offer general sessions open to all members of the university community.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in the following open sessions:

Staff: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, French Auditorium.
Faculty: 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, Bovee University Center Auditorium.
Students: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, Biosciences room 1010.
General (open to all students, faculty and staff): 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, Bovee University Center Auditorium.

In addition, university community members can provide thoughts on CMU’s mission statement and vision statement using online forms found on the strategic planning webpage. There also is an online form to provide general strategic planning feedback, including sharing thoughts on how the university can best meet the needs of students and communities, as well as what differentiates CMU from its competitors.

Throughout the process, the Strategic Planning Team will provide updates to the university community, Davies said. There also will be opportunities for stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the draft plan before it is finalized.

Davies first announced the formation of multiple strategic planning groups at the CMU Board of Trustees Dec. 8 meeting. In January, the Strategic Planning Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Team and Strategic Envisioning Advisory Team met to review their respective roles and responsibilities, and to develop plans for the spring semester. Information about the strategic planning process, including membership in the various planning groups, is available on the strategic planning webpage.