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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.
Commencement ends 48-year journey, opens new doors
by
Eric Baerren
Shannon Kelley’s journey to earning her bachelor’s degree started in 1977. It will end this semester, the final steps taken through the same office she’s worked in since 2017.
Kelley, who will turn 66 this year, will receive her bachelor’s degree with an option in community development during commencement for the College of Education and Human Services.
Her mother, who is 83, will watch her walk across the stage.
She completed her degree through CMU's Innovation and Online program while working full-time as an executive office specialist for CMU Online Student Services.
It’s filled her with big emotions.
“I’m really excited to be at this point, really excited to be at this point in the journey,” she said. Part of her also wonders how she’ll fill the time she spent studying. Part of her also thinks her family and dog will love the extra attention.
Her college career started while living in Lansing and continued when she moved to Los Angeles in 1982, she said. She earned two associate degrees from Lansing Community College after moving back. Those helped by providing transfer credits.
Kelley also received prior learning credits from emergency medical technician training, customer service experience, and a Linux workshop, she said.
Between the credits from her associate degrees and prior learning, she needed 51 credits to complete her bachelor’s degree in 2017 when she came to work for what was then known as Global Campus.
It also gave her valuable perspective while working for CMU Online. Kelley is often the first contact prospective students have with CMU. That includes older people who wonder if it’s worth it to go back to school.
“Don’t give up,” she said she tells them. “It is worth it.”
Innovation and Online caters to working adults. Because CMU Online has two eight-week terms per semester, Kelley said she could enroll in two courses a semester, but one at a time. It’s less time, but the work is the same as an in-person course.
“You still have to be dedicated,” she said.
Her bachelor’s degree could help her make her next career step, working with kids in elementary schools, she said.
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.
