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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.

      Advances in new sustainable fabrics

      by Teagan Haynes

      A tropical plant may hold the key to a more sustainable textile industry— Central Michigan University students are putting it to the test. Fashion merchandising and design majors, Zoë Renner and Cullen Douglas are working on an exciting fabric project using Abacá. This project focuses on using Bananatex, the first durable, biodegradable and plastic-free fabric. Abacá, a relative to the banana tree, is the plant source for this new fabric. Naturally hardy, Abacá thrives without pesticides, fertilizers, or large amounts of water. These traits help promote biodiversity and economic sustainability and Renner and Douglas hope that the new fabric will be a more eco-friendly alternative to cotton.  

      Renner and Douglas are testing Bananatex using a thermal mannequin which is designed to simulate human body temperatures. The mannequin allows them to monitor temperature and sweat levels induced by the fabric. They also perform dry testing to evaluate the fabric’s properties without incorporating moisture. The combination of these tests allows researchers to measure how the fabric would perform in real-world conditions.  

      Renner and Douglas appreciate the assistance of Lauren Agnew, laboratory coordinator for the Center for Merchandising and Design Technology, and faculty member Tanya Domina. The students recently participated in the CMU 2025 Student Creative & Research Endeavors Exhibition (SCREE) and will also share their work at the American Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists (AATCC) conference. The students received funding support from the CMU Office of Research and Graduate Studies. Ultimately, the students hope to expand their research by testing a larger variety of clothing. 

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