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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Recreation and Event Management students learn from alumni guest speakers

by Jason Fielder

During the fall 2022 semester, Central Michigan University alumni visited Lori Irwin’s Introduction to Recreation and Event Management Class.

The alumni, like Michelle Elliott, pictured below, shared stories on how they made it from the classrooms at Finch Fieldhouse, to where they are at today.

Recreation, Parks and Leisure alumna Michelle Elliott poses with students in Lori Irwin's Intro to Recreation and Event Management class — CMU Recreation and Event Management alumna, Michelle Elliott (’09), poses with students from Professor Lori Irwin’s Introduction to Recreation and Event Management class

Students raved about the guest speakers.

“Having alumni that have been in our positions, have gone through the same experiences and then came back to share their experiences is really nice,” says Alexis Wood, a junior, who was a student in the class.

“The class opened up my eyes to see that I actually want to go into the event world,” freshman Reagan Brengman said. “The guest speakers helped me to see the different aspects of what you can go into because there are so many different jobs in recreation and event management.”

Over the semester, 10 alumni guest speakers visited, with their employment ranging from Boston Garden, SAFE Management, Detroit City Distillery, Central Michigan University and many others. Jenna Steeb, a freshman majoring in recreation and event management, says she left each class feeling inspired about her future in the industry.

“I wanted to hear from them on what they did in college that prepared them for their careers,” Steeb said, adding: “Finding out early on (about the path to take) will definitely set me up down the road.”