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.

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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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Grant to help online programs meet state’s skills need

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Money allocated by the state Legislature will help Central Michigan University’s Innovation and Online program develop programs to help more working-age Michiganders obtain a post-high school education.

The $822,497 grant will help CMU Online build flexible education programming with Lansing Community College through an agreement that allows students to take courses at both schools, said a press release from The Michigan Center for Adult College Success.

“We are thrilled to be part of the Innovation Investment Award to support working-age Michiganders in achieving their educational and career goals,” said Kaleb Patrick, interim vice president of Innovation and Online. “This grant will allow us to expand our collaborative efforts with Lansing Community College, as well as other community colleges in the future, to help students gain the credentials needed to thrive in Michigan’s knowledge-based economy.

“We are proud to support the ‘Sixty by 30’ goal and contribute to Michigan's vibrant future.”

Sixty by 30 is a state program designed to help 60 percent of adult Michiganders obtain a post-high school educational credential by 2030. Currently, that figure is 51.1 percent.

CMU previously received $75,000 Quick Start grant to assess the state’s skills needs and help CMU Online assess the students’ experience in its online programs.

“Through the development of flexible, in-demand credentials that build on the professional experiences acquired throughout a learner’s career, we can build toward new skills and achievements,” Patrick said.

Online students have unique needs compared to more traditional students who attend classes on CMU’s main campus.

They are typically older. The average age of an undergraduate online student enrolled at CMU is approximately 33 years old, and the average age of a graduate online student is approximately 36 years old, Patrick said.

They are usually already in careers and are looking for ways to enhance professionally through additional education, he said.

More than 80 percent of the over 4,000 students admitted to a CMU online program, live in Michigan. They live all over the state, including 31 percent in metro Detroit, 14 percent in the Lansing area, 13 percent in the Grand Rapids area, 12 percent in the Great Lakes Bay Region and 11 percent in northern Michigan. The rest live out of state.