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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‘Our past is prologue. Our focus is forward.’

by Sanjna Jassi

In his first State of the University address, President Davies outlines five strategic pathways to guide CMU into 2030.

Central Michigan University President Bob Davies had an important message for stakeholders in his first State of the University address "The state of our university is good — it is indeed very good — but it could be great."

Davies spoke to an audience of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners Thursday, Nov. 7, in Warriner Hall. In his address, he highlighted some of the accomplishments of the past year, including faculty and student achievements.

He also addressed a number of challenges facing the university, including declining enrollment and student retention rates.

"Today we will talk about them openly and honestly," he said. "Most importantly, we will talk about what we are doing to overcome them."

Davies set goals he called ambitious but attainable for enrollment in 2020, including a 14% increase in freshman enrollment and an increase of 20% in transfer student enrollment.

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He also outlined five strategic pathways designed to increase enrollment and retention, boost research and scholarly activity, promote innovation and collaboration, foster partnership with the community, and expand CMU's business model.

"Because we are fired up and focused, there is nothing we cannot achieve," Davies said.

As he closed his remarks, Davies shared a recent conversation he had with his daughter, a current CMU student.

When asked if she was glad she had chosen to attend CMU, "she responded with a very clear, enthusiastic yes," he said.

Professors have given her opportunities to experience new types of learning, classmates have shared unique perspectives and she's developing leadership skills through group projects, Davies said.

"Through her eyes, I see the invaluable experiences we make possible here. These glimpses of life at Central give me an immense passion to build on our successes and strengths."

Davies said he will soon convene work groups to begin creating frameworks for each of the five strategic pathways. While CMU has done great things in the past, Davies said we must all now look to the university's future.

"Our past is prologue. Our focus is forward."