Sparking ideas, building futures: The Isabella Bank Institute of Entrepreneurship

When you step into the Idea Den, you can feel the energy. It’s a space designed for students to “ideate, create, team up, work on ideas, or just simply build community around entrepreneurship,” said Julie Messing, Director of the Isabella Bank Institute of Entrepreneurship.

Beyond the classroom

While CMU offers classes in entrepreneurship, IBIE goes further.

“It’s an experiential opportunity for students,” Messing explained. “This is non class related. It’s gaining experiences. It’s building their network and connections and giving real life support to start something or explore ideas or solutions to problems.”

From workshops to hackathons, IBIE provides year-round programming that lets students practice entrepreneurship in real time—well before they step into the marketplace.

The New Venture Challenge: A signature opportunity

One of IBIE’s flagship offerings is the New Venture Challenge, which celebrated its 15^th anniversary this past April.

“It is a signature program for our program and for the university,” Messing said. “It has a wonderful legacy of support for student entrepreneurs and engaging and connecting them with mentors, alumni and other resources that can help them elevate their entrepreneurial pathway.”

NVC is more than a competition—it’s the culmination of a year’s worth of preparation. Students refine their ideas, get expert feedback, and present to audiences that might include “ultimately customers or ultimately partners or ultimately investors.”

What can students expect from the next NVC?

As NVC steps into its 16^th year, the format is being refreshed. Messing explained that the competition is no longer just a one-day event—it now reflects “the culmination, really, of a whole year of programming.” That means students can expect more workshops, challenges, hackathons, and speaker events leading up to the final pitch. This approach gives participants even more time to practice, grow their ideas, and strengthen their entrepreneurial toolkit.

Open to every student and all majors

One of the most exciting aspects of IBIE and NVC is that they aren’t just for business majors. “Even though we are a very proud part of CBA, it is not limited to college business students. Entrepreneurship is a multidisciplinary field and touches on all majors, all areas,” Messing emphasized.

Eligibility is intentionally broad. “It needs to be led by a current, Central Michigan student, which could be a first-year student just walking in the door. Or it could be a graduate level or professional student, getting a MBA, PhD or, medical degree or any level,” she said. Teams can even include outside partners, as long as the CMU student is the one leading.

Success stories that inspire

The New Venture Challenge has launched ideas that range from community-focused ventures to high-growth companies. “Sometimes you have students that compete with a particular idea, and that’s the one that they take forward and do something with,” Messing explained.

The success stories include Ignite Donuts, founded by CMU student Casey Croad, which began as an NVC idea and now fuels campus life right in the Idea Den. Others include Life Unplugged, a lifestyle and apparel brand that promotes freedom from technology, and businesses in industries as diverse as printing, messaging, marketing, film, and medical innovation.

And even when students don’t stick with their original idea, the process itself can be transformative. “It is that springboard to the next thing,” said Messing. Many alumni return years later with successful ventures that began with the confidence they built through NVC.

Words of encouragement

When asked what advice she would share with aspiring entrepreneurs, Messing doesn’t hesitate: “Just do it. Just get involved. Show up. You’re invited to something or you see, there’s an avenue to come meet other people or to explore ideas. Show up and see what it’s about.”

She also reminds students that opportunity often hides inside everyday challenges: “A lot of entrepreneurship is based on solving problems. We all encounter them throughout our daily lives. We can look at things if we use a perspective of what is the opportunity in this problem that can help us on the pathway to being that entrepreneur.”

Turning ideas into action

If you’re interested in learning more, join IBIE Spark sessions—a welcoming place for students with ideas to explore their potential. These gatherings connect students directly with faculty and entrepreneurial mentors who help shape and strengthen early-stage ideas.

As a former IBIE student worker and CMU alumnus Danny Leahy ‘25 puts it: “The Spark sessions are a really cool opportunity for students who have an idea for a business to learn how to really launch that business and get some custom-tailored mentoring for how to launch their specific business,” he said. “And we have some really skilled experts who help them with that, like Professor G [John Gustincic], who has a lot of great experience and a lot of insight to share with students.”

For students looking to take their first step into entrepreneurship, Spark sessions are often the perfect starting point.