The Mobile World Capital unveils the 4YFN program, which will convert Barcelona into the capital of mobile entrepreneurship

• 4YFN will host the first international mobile entrepreneurship competition to identify the three top startups in terms of creativity, originality, innovation, and scalability
• The premier event in the mobile world will boast the participation of major international figures, including the likes of Verne Harnish and Kenneth Morse, as well as leading innovative companies like Claro Partners and Ineedit
• 4YFN will hold a special edition of Wayra DemoDay and will welcome the “dreamers” on the Imagine Express upon their arrival in Barcelona

December 18, 2013

4 Years From Now (4YFN), the international forum organized by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, under the auspices of the Mobile World Congress, has unveiled an important part of the program which will convert Barcelona into the capital of mobile entrepreneurship. With the final program yet to be definitively announced, the event has already secured the participation of specialists such as Verne Harnish, the American coaching guru for entrepreneurs; Carlos Domingo, vice-president of Telefónica and CEO of Telefónica R&D; Morten Lund, the prolific entrepreneur behind over 80 startups; Kenneth Morse, founder of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center and a visiting professor at ESADE; Pepe Agell, senior director of Chartboost; and Aldo de Jong, co-founder of the innovation consultancy Claro Partners.

4YFN will also host the first international mobile entrepreneurship competition and a special edition of Wayra DemoDay, in addition to serving as the last stop for the Imagine Express, a “hackatrain” running from Barcelona-Paris-London-Barcelona on which 36 participants, in teams of three, will develop mobile applications.

4YFN encompasses all the thematic areas that any agent in the entrepreneurial ecosystem should take into account when undertaking a project: the Internet of Things, Big Data, Creativity and Commercial Capacity, the latest trends in Design, the Legal Environment, and Financing are some of the program’s central points. The event is designed to serve as a forum for the generation of ideas and the development of forward-looking projects through talks, workshops, and meetings with specialists and investors.

4YFN will be held in Barcelona from 24 to 27 February 2014, spanning four working days. The first three activities will be held at Fira Barcelona grounds in Montjuïc, while on the last day, 27 February, the 4YFN program will take place at the facility on the city’s Gran Via, where attendees will be able to conduct meetings with companies attending and exhibiting at the Mobile World Congress.

Conferences and workshops

The 4YFN lineup of talks and workshops, slated for the first three days of the event, will list leading figures in the world of international entrepreneurship. Verne Harnish, the American guru in coaching for entrepreneurs, will share the keys to successfully creating a company. And one of the founders of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center and a Visiting Professor at ESADE, Kenneth Morse, will offer recommendations to foment strategic and global sales policies.

The characteristics and business opportunities offered by the Internet of Things will be addressed by Aldo de Jong, co-founder of the innovation consultancy Claro Partners. Other headlining presentations will be given by Sweden’s Morten Lund, the prolific entrepreneur who has invested in more than 80 high-level tech startups; Harald Neidhart, founder, curator, and editor-in-chief of the MLove collective; Pepe Agell, Senior Director of Worldwide Publisher Relations at Chartboost; and Carlos Domingo, Vice-president of Telefónica and CEO of Telefónica R&D.

Conceived as practical and interactive forums, the 4YFN Workshops will offer entrepreneurs and startups a genuine immersion in core aspects of entrepreneurship. The studio Ineedit will address the centrality of the user in the creation and development of projects. Claro Partners, meanwhile, will work with attendees on the concept of Big Data – opportunities provided by properly processing user-provided data – as well as the design issues related to the Internet of Things.

The 4YFN workshops will also look at the applications and opportunities of mobile transformation, and financing formulas for project development. The mobile filmmaker Conrad Mess will reveal the opportunities afforded by mobile recording and video editing tools; Diego Fernández, from Coperfield for Social Good, will share the keys to the exercise of creative leadership; and Juan Álvarez, from Seed & Click, will present crowdfunding to the entrepreneurial environment.

Mobile Startup Competition 4YFN will host the first international mobile entrepreneurship competition, the Mobile Startup Competition, which will recognize the best project in terms of creativity, originality, innovation, and scalability. The contest, which is already accepting entries, is aimed at all startups, regardless of their stage of development.

The judging panel, made up of eight important figures in the international business world, will select a total of ten semifinalists, who will deliver public pitches on 24 February. 4YFN will reward the top three participants with 5,000 euros in advisory services from BDO International, and the winner will receive a 1-week trip to Silicon Valley.

Speed Dating and Meet the Advisors

Aware that any innovation project requires capital for its development, consolidation, and growth, 4YFN includes Speed Dating in its program, an instrument for interaction between startups and investors, accelerators, and venture capital funds that will take place on February 25. Organized into 10-minute sessions called Foundum Unplugged, today 4YFN has received confirmation from companies such as Active Partners, M8Capital, Orange Faband BDMI, among others, which will put up 1 billion dollars to invest in different projects.

4YFN will also offer attendees the opportunity to meet with mentors and specialists in fields such as marketing, design, communications, intellectual property, and technical development. Meet the Advisors will be the ideal setting to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of leading figures in the world of innovation and consolidate projects.

Imagine Express and the special edition of Wayra DemoDay

4YFN boasts two prominent partners who believe in the momentum the event will provide both the city and the sphere of innovation: Imagine Express and Wayra.

The Mobile World Capital Barcelona entrepreneurship event will be the last stop for the Imagine Express: an entrepreneurial train covering a four-day Barcelona-Paris-London-Barcelona route. The participants, 12 creators, 12 programming engineers, and 12 students of ADE will form groups of three to develop applications for the Tourism, Media, and Energy sectors, and the social environment. The ideas created will be presented to a group of investors in London and the top team in each sector will receive funding and advice to develop their idea. During the return trip to Barcelona, the winning projects will be constituted as a startup and the 4YFN will serve as the stage to present these projects to the entrepreneurial community.

4YFN will also host, on Wednesday, February 26, a special edition of Wayra DemoDay, which will bring together some of the top talents in the world of mobile entrepreneurship in Wayra venues around the world.