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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A Life Changing Experience in South Africa

by Sarah Buckley

Andrea LaFontaine, Central Michigan University’s Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government, traveled to South Africa in January to complete her fellowship capstone project for the Michigan State University Great Lakes Leadership Academy.

Based at the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) for an unforgettable 11 days, the immersive experience included game drives, bush walks, a Kruger National Park safari, and engaging lectures at the college.

LaFontaine and the other participants met with non-profit leaders committed to protecting and promoting the biodiversity of the world’s largest vegetated canyon: Blyde River Canyon (“green canyon”). They also toured a mango farm and met with the farm's chief operating officer to learn more about agricultural policy issues and the impact it has on the local community.

In addition to daily wildlife encounters, they explored diverse villages where they experienced local cultures and food, learning about community development initiatives and the importance of intentional, authentic community engagement.

Closeup image of Andrea LaFontaine with the Blyde River Canyon in South Africa behind her. — Andrea LaFontaine smiles for a picture with the Blyde River Canyon in South Africa behind her.

LaFontaine says the capstone project was a lifechanging experience.

“While I’ll be bringing back so many takeaways, the one that really stuck is that ecological, economical, and social sustainability MUST be balanced,” said LaFontaine. “If I could only pick one word to describe this transformative journey: Awe.”

The SAWC trains the rangers and K-9 units for parks and reserves that are the front-line defense against poachers. The award-winning documentary Rhino Man was filmed here.

LaFontaine earned two degrees at CMU: a bachelor's degree in political science in 2009 and a Master of Public Administration degree in 2011.

She is the seventh person to serve as CMU’s Griffin Chair. Appointed in 2021, her three-year term was extended through 2025. She also is the executive director of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance.

Established in 2000, the Griffin Endowed Chair honors two of CMU's esteemed graduates — former U.S. Congressman, U.S. Senator and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Griffin (1923-2015) and Marjorie Anderson Griffin (1922-2017), who served as a faculty member in the Charles V. Park Library and on the Board of Governors for the Clarke Historical Library.