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.

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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 joins cost transparency initiative

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Central Michigan University has joined a national initiative of higher education associations and universities to promote transparency around the cost of higher education.

The College Cost Transparency Initiative aims to provide accurate, clear information about the true cost of a college education and eligibility for financial aid. It also calls on member institutions to explain financial aid offers in plain, clear language and to use whatever technology best serves their student populations.

“Central Michigan University is committed to simplifying the financial aid process for our prospective and current students,” said Sarah Kasabian-Larson, CMU’s director of scholarships & financial aid. “By providing clear, transparent offer notifications that outline the breakdown of offered aid, estimated expenses, and glossary of terms, we believe that students will be better equipped to make informed decisions.

“Taking a step toward this promise, CMU has signed the College Cost Transparency Initiative and works to ensure the financial aid process is simplified and clear.”

Member institutions must provide prospective and current students with an estimate of their total cost of attendance and details about financial aid packages offered, including which portions are free money and which need to be repaid, as well as information on student work opportunities.

CMU joins more than 500 schools across the United States in the initiative, including Michigan’s 14 other public universities.

Kasabian discussed another piece of the financial aid puzzle undergoing a transformation on a recent episode of The Search Bar podcast.

The United States Department of Education announced earlier this year that it is simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Among other changes, the new form will draw information from a filer’s income tax return.