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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: Sept. 25-Oct. 1

      by User Not Found

      Some of the top photos from Central Michigan University events and activities during the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1 as captured by University Communications.

      Junior tight end Bailey Smith carries the American flag in his left arm, leading the CMU football team onto the field prior to the game against Eastern Michigan University.
      Junior tight end Bailey Smith leads the football team onto the field ahead of CMU's game against in-state rival Eastern Michigan.
      Hundreds of CMU students cheer from the stands during the CMU football game against Eastern Michigan.
      28,323 fans packed Kelly/Shorts Stadium for the CMU vs. EMU game, marking the largest crowd since 2016.
      CMU's drum major high steps on the football field with wearing a large white hat as the band plays in the background.
      The Central Michigan University Marching Band performs in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
      A closeup of a group of four football fans in the stands at a CMU football game, two men wearing hats and sunglasses pump their arms in the air while the women on either side of them laugh.
      Fans had plenty of reason to be fired up as CMU defeated EMU 26-23, improving to 3-2 on the season.
      A prospective CMU student tries a game on a table inside the Engineering and Technology Building during CMU & You Day.
      Prospective students take part in CMU & You Day, which gives attendees an opportunity to discover what CMU has to offer in both academics and student life.
      Families and prospective students wander the main atrium area of the Engineering and Technology Building.
      CMU & You Day participants gather in the Engineering and Technology Building to discover various departments, programs and organizations.
      Prospective students dressed in maroon CMU apparel speak with a music department faculty member in a hallway.
      Students interested in the School of Music meet in the Music Building to speak with students and faculty within the College of the Arts and Media.
      Women's soccer player Claudia Muessig takes a shot during a night game against Western Michigan University.
      Midfielder Claudia Muessig takes a shot during the CMU women's soccer team's 3-1 loss to rival Western Michigan.
      Four female soccer fans burst a colored powder packet on themselves, covering their white CMU t-shirts in various pastel colors.
      Women's soccer fans celebrate a CMU goal by throwing paint powder in the air.

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      Questions?

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