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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A new way for CMU students to find jobs

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Thousands of new jobs and internships are posted around the world every day. Navigating the job search process can be stressful and overwhelming regardless of where someone is in their career journey.

Enter Career Central powered by 12twenty, a new platform launched in August 2024 that connects Central Michigan University students with a network of over 19,000 employers.

“Career Central is more than your typical job search site,” said Erica O’Toole, associate director of CMU’s Career Development Center.

Every job on the platform is vetted by the Career Development Center. Users can access data related to each of the corresponding employers within Career Central.

“Getting to see historical connections and outcomes that current and former CMU students have had with each company is something you can’t get anywhere else,” O’Toole said.

Career Central is available to current students.

Some of Career Central’s key features and benefits include:

Access to career advisors, career fairs, networking events and workshops both in-person and virtually.
Connecting with peers for tips, advice and testimonials with various companies.
Personalized career recommendations based on each user’s profile and interests.
Downloadable resources such as resume templates, job search tips and more.

CMU defines its success by the success of its students and alumni. With nearly 95% of recent CMU graduates employed, continuing their education or participating in military or other service, Career Central is one more way CMU is preparing its students for success after graduation.

Career Central is accessible and compatible with smartphones, tablets and computers. More information about the new platform is available on the Career Central web page.