200 startups from 50 different countries will square off in 4YFN’s competition for entrepreneurs

• A panel formed by investors and experts in entrepreneurship will select the 10 best startups, which will present their projects at 4YFN
• The entrepreneurs selected represent 88 cities from all around the world 

January 30, 2014

The competition for entrepreneurs (Mobile Startup Competition) 4 Years From Now (4YFN)has closed out enrollment with close to 450 applications received and a total of 192 companies that have successfully completed the process. In the coming weeks, a panel made up of investors and business experts will select the 10 best projects, to be presented at 4YFN, an international event for entrepreneurs which will take place from 24 to 27 February in conjunction with the Mobile World Congress.

From these 10 companies, the panel will choose the three most brilliant, original, and with the greatest potential for scalability. The best idea will receive special recognition as the winner of the first international entrepreneurship competition, receiving a week at the Startup Embassy in Silicon Valley, valued at €1,500, in addition to other prizes. The three finalists will also pass directly to the second phase of access to BStartup, Banc Sabadell’s entrepreneurs program.

Nearly 200 companies that have passed the first stage hail from some 50 different countries and 88 cities around the world. Although only 10 will travel to Barcelona to present their projects, all participating startups will receive a report from the panel containing feedback on their ventures.

Most of the 192 companies selected for the competition are more than one year old, while 48% were founded in just the last 12 months. 64% of the selected startups report invoicing between 0 and €10,000 per year, 24%, between €10,000 and €100,000; 10%, between €100,000 and € 500,000; 0.5%, between €500,000 and one million euros; and 1.5% manage to invoice more than this figure.

52% of the companies participating in the Mobile Startup Competition are staffed only by the entrepreneurs who created them, 19% have one to three employees, 21% have three to five employees, 7% have between 10 and 20, and only 1% have staffs of over 10.

4 Years From Now (4YFN)

4 Years From Now (4YFN) is an international forum organized by Mobile World Capital Barcelona under the auspices of the Mobile World Congress from 24 to 27 February 2014. 4YFN will bring together supply and demand and promote knowledge transfer and networking among more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, professionals, startups, accelerators, incubators and investors from around the world.

The creation of 4YFN marks a response to the key role that MWCB assigns to programs focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation, and is based on a desire to provide real support to the entrepreneurial sector, a field that is vitally strategic not only for mobile transformation, but also for economic and business development.

The 4YFN program is slated for four working days. For the first three days, from 24 to 26 February, activities will be held at the Fira de Barcelona’s grounds in Montjuïc, taking advantage of the fact that the Mobile World Congress 2014 has recovered this facility. On 27 February 4YFN activities will be held at the Gran Via facility, where attendees will have the opportunity to schedule meetings with exhibiting companies and convention attendees.

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.