GREELEY - Liquid Media LLC and Red Rocket Web Specialists took top honors at the first Monfort College of Business Entrepreneurial Challenge on Thursday.

Liquid Media founder Alex Montoya received $5,000 seed money for taking first place in the New Startup category - businesses not yet launched - for his plans for a consumer controlled marketing and real time advertising company, and Chadd Byrant took home $5,000 to help Red Rocket grow its marketing services in the Second-phase Growth category for established businesses.

Matt Ackerman reeled in second place and $3,000 in the new startup category for Safe Rod, an idea for a fly-rod protector for drift boats. Adam Wickam's ProdaGen LLC, which would help Nintendo Wii players improve their proficiency, was awarded $1,000 for third.

There was such a close race in the Growth category - for businesses established for at least three years that plan to grow at least 20 percent in the next 12 months - that the judges decided to split the remaining $5,000 among three companies: Sardis Enterprises, a pineapple import and retail business run by Timothy Montague; Expressville, a communication learning firm run by Sherilyn Marrow; and I Am Smart Technology, a company that developed a device that turns off electric appliances by sound, founded by Derek Stephens.

"We're very happy with the results of this inaugural Entrepreneurial Challenge," said David Thomas, assistant professor of management at the College. "We received a wide range of business ideas and had 20 finalists presenting their business plans at this all-day event."

The event took place at the University Center Ballroom on the campus of the University of Northern Colorado.

While the finalists presented their business plans to the judges, the Entrepreneurial Challenge also featured small business workshops on topics ranging from branding a business to human resource management. The luncheon panel on Successfully Positioning Your Firm in the New Economy featured Lewis Hagler of the Colorado Enterprise Fund; Mike O'Donnell of Colorado Lending Source; and Tim Kenney of First National Bank.

The panelists agreed that the current economic situation requires businesses of all sizes to use creativity and flexibility to find financing. In addition to having a clearly defined business plan and establishing a solid relationship with a bank before you need to borrow, they suggested exploring collaborations within your existing relationships - with suppliers and major customers - and alternative funding sources such as microlenders when looking for a cash infusion.

The Entrepreneurial Challenge was sponsored by the UNC Foundation, Colorado Lending Source, First National Bank, Upstate Colorado Economic Development, the Colorado SBDC Network of Northeast Colorado, and the Northern Colorado Business Report.