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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 introduces new TV, online and social ads

      by Aaron Mills

      Student researchers testing a river's water quality, film students documenting their work and a curious hiker wondering what he just stumbled upon on a sunny Michigan afternoon.

      This is the scene of one the new commercials in Central Michigan University's latest advertising campaign, focusing on hands-on experiences and delivering real-world results.

      The campaign went live in market on Oct. 1 and includes several versions of the ad for various TV, online and social media placements.

      John Veilleux, CMU vice president for University Communications and chief marketing officer, says you must be unique to break through the noise of higher education marketing.

      "We want to show prospective students the hands-on, real-world and fired-up mentality we have here at Central Michigan University," said Veilleux of the new campaign.

      CMU introduced its new brand and tagline "We do." in September of last year. The brand promise — "You will learn to lead in life" — encompasses four pillars: We focus on real-world results, we set the leadership standard, we lift each other up, and we exemplify a Fired-Up attitude.

      The university's advertising efforts seek to demonstrate the real-world experiences CMU provides from day one – a differentiator in higher education. The ads are currently running throughout Michigan and the surrounding region.

      More information on CMU's brand guidelines is available online and members of the CMU community may sign up for brand voice training if interested.

       

       

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      Questions?

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