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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CMU announces Go Grants Initiative

by Ari Harris

During his First 100 Days Reflection event today, Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon announced the launch of a new funding initiative to drive progress on the university’s strategic plan.

“Great work is already underway on CMU’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, but there are so many opportunities for our students, faculty and staff to help the university achieve its priorities,” MacKinnon said. “The Go Grants Initiative was established to encourage every member of our community to share creative ways to reach our SMART goals related to student and scholarly success, community engagement, organizational culture and sustainability.”

The Go Grants will be distributed as one-time funds in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, MacKinnon said, and are available to individual students, faculty and staff, and to campus teams and units. Interested applicants can share their ideas by completing an online submission form.

In addition to sharing their project idea and its estimated cost, applicants will be asked to share information including how:

The proposed project aligns with one or more strategic priority.
The project will positively impact CMU, its stakeholders and/or the communities CMU serves.
The recipients will assess the success of their project and measure its outcomes.

The window to apply for Go Grants opens Wednesday, February 12 and will close at 5 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2025.

Learn more about Go Grants!

Joe Garrison, university budget officer and assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, said interested applicants can also get guidance to ensure their proposal aligns with the strategic plan by emailing strategicplanning@cmich.edu.

“There are working groups for each of the plan’s four priorities, and conveners of those groups can offer suggestions to help applicants develop their proposals,” Garrison said.

Members of the strategic plan priority working groups will also play a role in selecting projects for funding, Garrison said. Along with members of the university’s Budget Priorities Committee, the conveners will review proposals for alignment with the plan priorities and SMART goals, potential positive impact, and expected return on investment, whether financial or mission-based.

With a total pool of $500,000 available to award, Garrison said the reviewers hope to have several winning projects for each of the four priorities. Selected proposals will be announced late in the Spring semester, he said, and funding will be available to the recipients shortly thereafter.

“CMU’s students, faculty and staff are among the most creative, innovative, passionate and dedicated people I have encountered in my higher education journey,” MacKinnon said. “I can’t wait to watch their ideas for improving CMU come to life.”