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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.
Assessing the statewide skills gap
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Central Michigan University Innovation and Online is taking the first steps to ramp up the university’s online learning program to help drive Michigan’s economy forward.
Credo, a higher education consulting firm, was hired to assess the experience of students in CMU’s online programs, said Kaleb Patrick, interim vice president for Innovation and Online. This assessment will focus on the entire online student experience.
The assessment will take a comprehensive look at an online student’s entire experience, Patrick said. That is not just about academics, but how CMU supports those students on their educational journey.
This will provide CMU with a better understanding of the needs of today’s online and adult students, he said.
CMU’s Innovation and Online will also use JobsEQ, a labor market analysis tool, to identify what skills are in demand across Michigan, helping CMU align its programs with workforce needs.
“We are looking for gaps in our existing program offerings,” Patrick said.
Money to pay for both came from an approximately $75,000 grant from the state of Michigan’s Sixty by 30 program. The program’s goal is providing 60 percent of Michiganders with a post-high school credential of some kind by 2030.
Knowledge gathered through these two assessments will put CMU in a position to start building needed programs. It’ll also put the university in a position to secure additional money to make that happen.
Online students have unique needs compared to more traditional students who attend classes on CMU’s main campus.
They are typically older. The average age of an undergraduate online student enrolled at CMU is approximately 33 years old, and the average age of a graduate online student is approximately 36 years old, Patrick said.
They are usually already in careers and are looking for ways to enhance professionally through additional education, he said.
Of over 4,000 students admitted to a CMU online program, they live and attend from all over the state: 31 percent in metro Detroit, 14 percent in the Lansing area, 13 percent in the Grand Rapids area, 12 percent in the Great Lakes Bay Region and 11 percent in northern Michigan. The rest live out of state.
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
