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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!

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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.

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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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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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Hope Spaw, a graduate student studying flute performance and conducting, evaluated and categorized Michigan-based high school flute choir music to create resource materials for Michigan high school teachers. Spaw separated the music based on grade level and the instruments involved in the piece.

Spaw began her research by finding composers and publishing companies connected to the state of Michigan. Spaw also strived to find music accessible to all high school programs, which may not have access to different types of flutes. From this list she compiled, Spaw picked out pieces which she found most valuable to teach students.

The goal of Spaw’s research was to create a valuable resource for music teachers and to encourage flute players to explore flute choir music. Through this music, flute players can learn “rhythmic skill, tonal beauty and expressive skills.”

Spaw also presented her findings at the Michigan Music Conference in January 2023, along with flute professor, Joanna White, DMA, and the Central Michigan University Flute Choir. In this presentation, Spaw highlighted composers from CMU who have composed pieces for flute choir.

Spaw began playing flute at 10 years old, which led to her continuing to study music at the university level. After graduation, Spaw plans to teach public school band at the high school level.

This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Source: Hadlee Rinn

Media Contact: Kara Owens