4YFN hits milestone anniversary

Innovative incubation programme Four Years From Now (4YFN) hits a key milestone at MWC Barcelona 2024, its tenth edition. Here, Michael Carroll investigates the secrets of its success and what's in store for this year.

Beginning on the fringes of the GSMA’s flagship event, 4YFN was brought in house to the same Fira Gran Via venue as the main show in 2021 and today occupies an ever-increasing amount of space as it rapidly becomes a stalwart of the overall occasion.

Pere Duran, director of 4YFN, told MWC Daily News the expanding presence within the main MWC Barcelona space has provided a clear boost for the start-up event’s programme and participants, bringing greater footfall to its own exhibition along with wider opportunities for collaboration with the broader mobile and technology sectors.

The executive explained 4YFN had evolved from an event focused largely on Spain and Europe to one with a truly international reach, all underscored by a continued commitment to connect technology start-ups with investors and business leaders.

He added locating 4YFN alongside MWC Barcelona was mutually beneficial, with attendees of the innovation event adding value to the overall programme.

In 2024, 4YFN is expected to attract around 850 start-ups spanning 12 industries, with a total of 178 countries due to be represented and more than 1,000 investors set to attend.

Duran said there would be more than 350 international speakers in attendance, along with more than 300 start-up pitching sessions.

He said the 2024 4YFN would “break all the records” on exhibition attendance, along with the conference programme. Duran pointed to the continued physical growth alongside the expanded line-up of companies, topics and programmes afoot for 2024 as he discussed a decade of involvement with 4YFN.

Event organisers promise a programme of top-level speakers along with events commemorating the landmark anniversary, including a specially curated networking plan and a look at some of 4YFN’s success stories.

Duran said the plan is to “structure the event the same way that we have always done”, but with “extra activities and some surprises that will add a lot of value”.

The focus on success stories will involve “some great start-ups that came to the event that have grown”, with the 2024 edition also geared up to try to predict the next big things in the technology sphere.

Duran explained core activities around connecting start-ups to founders, investors and business leaders will remain a key goal, noting this had proved effective in inspiring people to start new businesses or scale existing companies and, in turn, delivered positive impacts on global economies.

He also highlighted a partnership struck with GSMA Foundry in late 2023 as a spur for 4YFN in 2024.

A key element in the collaboration with the GSMA’s mobile innovation initiative is providing continuity between start-ups and companies seeking to scale, along with the potential for greater exposure during MWC Barcelona 2024 and beyond by tapping the foundry’s resources.

Impact

Duran has been involved with 4YFN from the outset and said the economic contribution of technology start-ups had grown significantly since the early days.

“We can say today that start-ups, digital start-ups are a key player of the modern economy and society”.

Duran believes “it is very obvious that start-ups have a positive impact to the economy”, citing job creation, “generating market value” and “creating innovation” as examples.

He argued efforts to highlight that “start-ups are an instrument to progress, for innovation and to create market value”, must continue, but noted he is also proud of the contribution such businesses have made in fields including healthcare and sustainability, factors he noted showed initiatives like 4YFN are as much about benefitting society as technology.

Duran explained there is growing momentum around digital healthcare, with 150 start-ups focused on the field set to attend the 2024 event, along with big name pharmaceutical players including AstraZeneca and GSK.

Activities

During the near week-long event, the winners of the annual 4YFN Awards will be revealed, a programme commemorating some of the world’s leading digital start-ups as judged by a panel comprised of financial, incubation and technology specialists. The initiative offers a €20,000 cash prize to the eventual winner alongside various speaking and exhibition opportunities.

Duran highlighted a “really cool conference programme”, with keynote speakers including Telefonica chief digital officer Chema Alonso; Sara Bisbe, co-founder and chief AI tech officer with specialist Aily Labs; CEO of Inbrain Neuroelectronics Carolina Aguilar; and Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and executive chair of S4 Capital.

“We will use this conference programme to reflect a little bit about what happened in the tech space in the last ten years”, Duran said, adding the plan is to invite some of the companies which 4YFN helped get off the ground to speak about the programme, along with offering guidance on potential future trends.

The conference programme reflects the growing presence of 4YFN, with the event’s largest line-up of themes to-date:

  • The age of AI, a look at the transformative power of the technology on various industries and society.
  • Growth, a theme offering entrepreneurs sage advice covering product strategy, scaling and building the right management team.
  • Start-up funding will provide insight into the top areas of VC investment, fundraising and exit strategies, among others.
  • Corporate innovation, exploring how established companies can drive growth and assist start-ups through partnerships, innovation laboratories and accelerator programmes.
  • Art of innovation promises to delve into how art, design and innovation are contributing to create immersive experiences which could overhaul current customer interactions.
  • Decentralisation and beyond, which looks at what potentially disruptive technologies including blockchain and distributed ledger systems could bring to existing industries, with an eye on how the metaverse can go beyond the hype cycle, the future of asset ownership and decentralised governance models.

Duran highlighted digital health; the university and spin-off hub; and green tech as three stand-outs of the 2024 4YFN programme, which also covers fintech; the impact of technology; areas for investors to connect with start-ups; and a founders zone, offering the insights of established experts across a range of topics.

Also on offer will be partner programmes, half-day events where companies working in the connectivity space offer their insights, launch products and hold demonstrations. And 4YFN will also host pitch battles, offering start-ups the chance to showcase their wares in competition with other emerging players across each of the programme topics.

Start-ups share secrets of success

Three 4YFN 2023 Awards finalists, including Start-up of the Year Award winner Payflow, give their reflections on the event and top tips for making the most of the opportunities on offer.

Payflow

4YFN is unquestionably the ultimate destination for every start-up and our three-year journey with this event culminated in our latest participation, where we proudly clinched the coveted 4YFN Start-up of the Year Award.

Beyond the recognition, it was a pivotal moment for us to connect with fellow professionals in the ecosystem, both current collaborators and potential investors.

Our counsel for fellow start-ups is unequivocal: embrace the opportunities, apply to relevant competitions, amass valuable experience, master your pitch, elevate your brand and company to new heights, and above all, savour the journey.

Microverse

Pitching on stage with the standout 4YFN award candidates influenced our subsequent actions because, in preparing our narrative, we had to laser focus on our users and goals.

This gave us more clarity on what we needed to focus on and what we needed to drop.

We advise participants to prepare in advance with a clear objective and identify the people you want to connect with to make the most of networking opportunities. Also, when presenting, keep your slides simple to avoid confusing yourself or the audience. Audio-visuals are great, but too much complexity can create headaches when presenting and you will need a backup plan if technology fails you.

DeafTawk

Being in the top-five in 4YFN was one standout moment for DeafTawk as it got us recognition and visibility in the market. This increased exposure has led to more opportunities, partnerships and connections in the industry.

One major takeaway from this event is establishing promising investor connections and increasing the likelihood of securing funding.

Our advice to the 4YFN 2024 finalists is to make use of the event and leverage connections and contacts to let others become aware of the innovation that helps solve a specific problem, and attract the attention of partners and investors.