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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.

      Entertainment, fashion to blend at Threads

      by Eric Baerren

      This year’s twist to the Threads fashion show started at MainStage in September. 

      Producers for the student-run fashion show met the Infusion dance team, CMU’s largest dance-based RSO, and asked them to perform in this year’s show. 

      Adding entertainment to the show will help it better reflect how the fashion industry is evolving, said Ian Mull, faculty member in the Fashion, Interior Design & Merchandising department. It provides students working on the show with a better hands-on experience.

      “I think the idea is to move with the times and to break the molds,” he said. “The idea is that we want to evolve, and we want to offer something innovative and new.”

      This year’s show, In The Spotlight, will take place at 6 p.m. April 12 in Plachta Auditorium.

      Plachta provides a perfect opportunity to hit the right mix of Broadway and fashion that show producers are looking for, said Piper Davis, one of the three producers.

      Infusion will provide one piece of the entertainment part of the show, said Emily Stabile, one of the other producers. The performances will add a new life to the show and make for a more unique experience.

      “We wanted to work with as many groups or programs across campus to create something a little different that we haven’t done before,” Stabile said. 

      All three producers were inspired by their time spent backstage in New York Fashion Week. Kristen Pitschel, the third producer, said she hopes the show inspires audience members to find a bit of passion in fashion.

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