Start up
Build up your venture idea.
Learn more
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.
FEMA backs CMU flood control
by
Sanjna Jassi
A FEMA-supported flood control project underway this summer will reduce the risk of flooding at CMU and in downstream communities.
A flood control project underway this summer will reduce the risk of events like the June 2017 flood that closed Central Michigan University's campus for a day.
The $1.1 million project is funded primarily through the region's largest-ever Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, said Jonathan Webb, CMU's associate vice president for facilities management.
"It helps to protect the main core of campus from damage by providing improved control of storm water flowing north," Webb said.
The south campus-focused project, begun this month, will:
- Expand three detention ponds, two of which collect stormwater near Theunissen Stadium.
- Create two new detention ponds.
- Build up a 1,080-foot-long berm.
- Install new ditches, storm sewer lines and culverts.
It also protects communities downstream.
Stormwater flows from Union Township through campus from south to north, then through Mount Pleasant, the Isabella Indian Reservation, Midland, Saginaw and Bay City via the Chippewa, Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers on its way to Saginaw Bay. Regulating the outflow from campus helps prevent floods in those waterways.
Collaboration brings results
A federal disaster declaration following the 2017 floods — when about six inches of rain fell overnight and caused millions of dollars in damages to buildings and grounds — opened grant opportunities through FEMA.
The university — in cooperation with Isabella County, the city of Mount Pleasant, the Isabella Drain Commission, Union Township and the Michigan State Police division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security — sought funds through FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation program to head off future threats. Under FEMA rules, the state applied for the competitive grant on CMU's behalf.
As a result, FEMA will reimburse $681,000 of the project cost, with CMU reserves covering the remaining cost.
State police said the flood control work is one of about 15 pre-disaster mitigation projects FEMA is currently supporting in Michigan.
Webb praised the collaboration it took to work through the lengthy and involved grant process.
"We're interconnected when it comes to storm water management," Webb said. "This is more than just a CMU challenge. We're grateful for all the support and everyone working together as a team."
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.
