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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Students experience language and culture through board games

by Sarah Buckley

Pearce Hall was the site of fierce competition April 9 as students, faculty and staff faced off in card and board game competitions.

International Game Night hosted by the Department of History, World Languages, and Cultures offers an opportunity to relax, meet people, and learn about a variety of cultures. Attendees played Baden-Württemberg Catan, Mille Bornes, Zug um Zug, Serpientes y Escaleras, and sugoroku, among others.

Open to everyone in the CMU community, this event is organized each semester by professors Daniela Richter and Leïla Ennaïli.

Three individuals seated at a table with a board game and dice in front of them. — Students play board games in Pearce Hall April 9 during International Game Night. Photo by: Arron Moore

Many students taking language classes came to the event and brought their friends—who quickly turned into enemies once the competition heated up. The convivial atmosphere is always conducive to sharing language and cultural knowledge. For instance, a student in Spanish taught some vocabulary to their peers while playing Lotería. Other students found enjoyment in stymieing the progress of their competitors while learning how to say “accident,” “pneu crevé,” and “panne d’essence” through the classic French card game Mille bornes.

International Game Night is a highlight on the calendars of many of the world languages faculty, who grab a seat at the table to join in the games with their students. Whether participants walked away victorious or had an unlucky night this time, they all enjoyed the experience and looked forward to a rematch at the next International Game Night in the fall.