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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Honoring MLK’s legacy at CMU

by Aaron Mills

More than 60 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech, Central Michigan University will honor King’s legacy with a week of events and activities. The national theme, set by the The King Center, is “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365”.

The celebration and reflection events begin on Monday, Jan. 20 with the return of the CommUNITY Peace Brunch in Finch Fieldhouse. The brunch is open to all members of the CMU and greater Mt. Pleasant communities. Attendees will hear from finalists in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest, Christ Central Choir, a jazz performance, and keynote speaker and CMU alumnus Senator Sarah Anthony.

Returning this year is Mission Possible: A Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. Showcase, which takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The event allows community members to recognize the life of MLK in their own unique way, whether it be through song, dance, poetry, spoken word, or other forms of expression.

The keynote speaker for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. week is Diana Patton, former Civil Rights attorney, Corporate Executive, and CEO & Founder of Rise with Diana and the Rise Advocates® movement. In her powerful MLK Day talk, Patton will share transformative principles of nonviolence and her methodology for moving toward authentic personal and cultural change.

The week concludes on Friday, Jan. 24 with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Students vs. Staff” charity basketball game. Monetary and non-perishable item donations will be accepted for entry and gifted to the CMU Student Food Pantry.

A complete event schedule is below:

Monday, Jan. 20

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. CommUNITY Peace Brunch: 9:30 a.m., Finch Fieldhouse. Doors open at 9 a.m.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, hosted by the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center: noon, Bovee University Center Rotunda.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. CommUNITY Peace March and Vigil: 3 p.m., Bovee University Center

Tuesday, Jan. 21