Mobile World Capital Barcelona launches its second edition of 4YFN, boosting its capacity and the participation of entrepreneurs and investors

• The event, which forms part of the Mobile World Congress, will double its floor space, expanding to 8,000 m2
• The program will feature three thematic pillars, each with its respective startup competition
• Yossi Vardi, a key figure in Israel’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, joins the 4YFN team as Honorary President

November 6, 2014

Mobile World Capital Barcelona launches the second edition of 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the international mobile entrepreneurship event. The current edition will be held from 2-5 March as part of the Mobile World Congress program.

4YFN is a business and networking platform for startups, investors, and multinational companies, showcasing new entrepreneurial initiatives in the mobile sector. The event connects startups with potential investors, while at the same time affording well-established companies the chance to identify opportunities and for immersion in an atmosphere of absolute innovation for a four-day period.

Mobile World Capital Barcelona expects a surge in participation relative to the first edition of 4YFN, which in 2014 saw 2,200 attendees. To achieve this, the 2015 facility will double its floor space, taking it up to 8,000 m2, and the program will feature three thematic pillars, each one with its corresponding startup competition (the previous year there was just one for the whole event).

4YFN 2015 presents a program spanning four days; during the first three, from 2-4 March, activities will take place at the Fira de Barcelona facilities at Montjuïc, while on the 5th they will be held at the Fira de Barcelona venue on Gran Via, where attendees will be able to visit exhibitors and organize encounters with Mobile World Congress participants and attendees.

Consolidation as a leading entrepreneurial event

For the first three days the program will be organized around three thematic pillars: Disrupted by Mobile, the IoT (Internet of Things), and Digital Media. Disrupted by Mobile will focus on the challenges facing traditional industry in the face of the transformation triggered by mobile technologies. This will be the space for Big Data, augmented reality, collaborative economics, privacy,y and security in the digital universe.

On the second day, the agenda will revolve around the IoT – the Internet of Things, with dynamics, talks and lectures on wearables, connected homes, digital product designs, new devices, 3D printing, and everything related to the interaction between people and physical objects. On the third and final day, at the Fira Montjuïc grounds, Digital Media will turn a spotlight on new ways to explore, generate, and consume content.

Besides attending the different talks and workshops, attendees will be able to visit the startups exhibition area, also expanded relative to last year, a forum where entrepreneurs from around the world will be able to display their mobile products and innovations. In addition, 4YFN will offer an after-work area to promote networking and pitch sessions to companies, investors, and venture capital funds, with a view to accelerating the growth of entrepreneurial projects. And, as a new development this year, 4YFN will create an exhibition area for experimental gadgets and mobile hardware.

New honorary president

4YFN has brought in Yossi Vardi as the honorary president of this edition. Vardi is a renowned Israeli investor with a long career in the entrepreneurial world. At the age of 26 he cofounded of one of Israel’s’ first software companies, and was the founding investor of ICQ, the first instant messaging application created on the Internet. He has invested in more than 50 companies in the Energy and Technological sectors, and served as an adviser on Energy issues to the World Bank and the UN Development Programme.

Collaborative programming: Call4Speakers

4YFN has launched a “Call4Speakers,” seeking proposals for the contents of this new edition’s program. The invitation is open to different types of participation (lectures, presentations, chats, panels of experts, interviews, workshops).

Entrepreneurship: the cornerstone of Mobile World Capital Barcelona.

Mobile World Capital Barcelona promotes entrepreneurship as a catalyst for mobile innovation and as a key agent for the progress of the economy and business community. 4YFN is an initiative of the Program of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (PEI).

At its first edition, 4YFN attracted 2,200 participants, incubators, and accelerators from 67 countries. The 4YFN program listed 156 lecturers, and 60 hours of workshops featuring, in addition to Yossi Vardi, figures like Nathan Blecharczyk (Airbnb), Martin Varsavsky (Fon), Jan Koum (WhatsApp), and Carlos Domingo (Telefónica Digital-Telefónica I+D), among others. Some 50 venture capital companies from around the world participated in the 4YFN “speed dating” event, and more than 60 experts advised startups and entrepreneurs on how to fast track their projects. The first edition of 4YFN also welcomed the first Mobile Startup Competition, in which nearly 200 startups from 50 countries participated. Spain’s Infantium, a customized learning platform for children, took second prize, making contact at 4YFN with one of the USA’s largest telecoms.