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 ROTC to shine on national stage at Folds of Honor golf event

by Jason Fielder

The Central Michigan ROTC Cannon Club will take their famous Pack 75 Howitzer cannon, “Genny’s Own,” on the road with a firing that will occur during the 3^rd Annual Folds of Honor Collegiate golf tournament in Grand Haven, MI.

The 4-day event, which runs from Sept. 8-11 at the American Dunes Golf Club, features 15 men’s and 15 women’s collegiate teams participating in a 54-hole tournament.

Participants include all the service academies, an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) team and one non-Division 1 school, among other Division 1 universities.

While CMU’s golf programs will not take part in the event this year, the men’s and women’s teams participated in the inaugural tournament in 2022 and are scheduled to play in the event in 2025.

The event will be nationally televised by the Golf Channel.

“This is a great opportunity for CMU to get national exposure for our ROTC program and for our men’s and women’s golf programs,” said Mike Tierney, CMU Advancement Board member, President and CEO of Community Bankers of Michigan, and one of the catalysts for getting CMU back into the Folds of Honor Collegiate golf tournament.

“I am proud to support Folds of Honor. CMU has a prominent heritage with military education and we have more flag officers than any other university outside of the military academies, which is something we can all be proud of!”

"We are honored to be part of this elite event paying tribute to some of this nation’s most distinguished heroes," said Amy Folan, Zyzelewski Family Vice President and Director of Athletics.

"CMU has more than 170 alumni who are flag/general officers, which is a testament to our leadership history and aligns our institutional values with this prestigious event."

The Collegiate golf tournament raises funds for the Folds of Honor Foundation. Since 2007, the foundation has provided over 52,000 scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen or disabled military and families of American first responders.

"It’s an honor for the CMU ROTC Program and the Chippewa Battalion to be invited to support the Folds of Honor event,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Greening, CMU ROTC Chair, Department of Military Science & Leadership.

“Numerous Army officers from our program return to Michigan to continue serving their communities. We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to support such an amazing event and organization that continues to support Michigan military families."

For more information on the 3^rd Annual Folds of Honor Collegiate and the Folds of Honor Foundation, click here.