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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.

      The week in photos: July 29-Aug. 4

      by User Not Found

      Some of the top photos from Central Michigan University events and activities during the week of July 29-Aug. 4 as captured by University Communications.

      Three CMU students walk down the sidewalk past the Broadway Theatre in downtown Mt. Pleasant.
      Everything's waiting for you downtown: Nearly 100 business line the streets of downtown Mt. Pleasant - including the historic Broadway Theatre, built in 1920.
      A CMU student in a maroon t-shirt plays on a pickle ball court as two people in white shirts stand on another court in the background.
      In a Pickle: Island Park has six outdoor Pickleball Courts that are free to play.
      A bearded man in a hat and glasses prepares a fishing pole for a male CMU student.
      Adam Sparkes, associate director of multimedia with University Communications, teaches a student how to fly fish during a video shoot on the Chippewa River as part of an upcoming advertising campaign.
      An aerial view of Central Michigan University’s campus with the Park Library at its center. The horizon stretches for miles with fluffy clouds against a light blue sky.
      An aerial view of the Park Library on a cloud-covered late July afternoon.

      Questions?