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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.

      CMU faculty win teaching innovation award

      by Sanjna Jassi
      CMU College of Business Administration faculty members Rebecca Dingus and Jeffrey Hoyle received a teaching award for sales education.

      Two faculty members from the Central Michigan University College of Business Administration have been recognized for excellence in teaching.

      Rebecca Dingus and Jeffrey Hoyle, who teach marketing and professional sales at CMU, received the 2019 Teaching Innovation in Sales Education Award, sponsored by the University Sales Center Alliance, at the National Conference in Sales Management.

      While attending the conference, Dingus and Hoyle presented their “Please don’t hang up: Integrating cold calling and phone skills in the professional sales classroom.” This project, a partnership with State Farm Insurance, allows students to work alongside sales professionals to make cold calls to prospective customers.

      Dingus says the project is beneficial because it goes beyond textbook learning. Making these live calls gives students the chance to talk with real prospects in a safe environment, and they are able to see the immediate impact of their work.

      In May 2019, CMU was once again named one the Sales Education Foundation’s top universities for professional sales education.

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      Questions?

      Contact the team