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.

Learn more

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.

Learn more

Event and recreation management students ignite creativity with Fire Up All Night

by Symantha Dattilo

CMU students can look forward to an exciting evening on February 1 as the Association of Recreation and Event Professionals (AREP) hosts a Fire Up All Night event in collaboration with the Office of Student Activities and Involvement. Taking place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Student Activity Center (SAC), the event promises fun, creativity, and engaging activities.

This event’s theme, “North, South, West”, divides the SAC into three immersive zones. Each area will offer a unique experience:

North: Embrace winter with activities like a snowball (dodgeball) fight.

South: Head to the pool for a showing of Teen Beach Movie.

West: Try your hand at inflatable axe throwing and snag a free cowboy hat.

In the main concourse, students can enjoy ice cream sandwiches and sip on mocktails while mingling with friends.

students pose at fire up all night holding mocktails

A platform for hands-on learning

AREP President Kiersten Judge expressed the excitement of putting classroom skills into practice.

“We are thrilled to have the chance to put our event planning talents to use for Fire Up All Night,” Judge said. “The opportunity to take what we’re learning and apply it to an event for our peers is incredibly rewarding.”

Hosting Fire Up All Night provides students with valuable, hands-on experience for aspiring event professionals. AREP, a student organization dedicated to event and recreation management, emphasizes opportunities for real-world application to prepare members for their future careers.

Expanding creativity across campus

The Fire Up All Night series doesn’t stop here – five additional student organizations will each host their own events throughout the spring semester. Hadlee Rinn, Coordinator of Student Activities, highlighted the importance of these opportunities for student growth.

“Our office is excited to give students the chance to host their own event without worrying about funding,” Rinn said. “They can focus on being creative and bringing their ideas to life while building essential skills like budgeting and collaboration.”

Get involved

Don’t miss the chance to attend or participate! For more information, about the Fire Up All Night series, email Hadlee Rinn at rin1hm@cmich.edu. To join AREP and get involved in future events, email Kiersten Judge at judge1ka@cmich.edu.