We have been overwhelmed by the number of entries to our Barca Starta competition for start-ups, with the final taking place in Barcelona on Tuesday, 26 February.

We received just short of 50 entries for the competition, and to no-one’s surprise, there are some very cool companies in there.

We are currently in the process of whittling these down to the finalists, each of whom will have two minutes to pitch to the judging panel in Barcelona for the chance to win a cash prize, plus extensive coverage on mobilemarketingmagazine.com and in our print, tablet and digital editions. Well be announcing the winners on Friday.

The judging panel is made up of Sienne Veit, head of mobile at Morrisons; Michael Bayle, senior vice president and GM, Mobile, at ESPN; John Occhipinti, a partner at VC firm, Relay Ventures; and Mobile Marketing editor, David Murphy.

On offer to the winner is a cash prize, plus exposure in Mobile Marketing’s print and online editions in the form of editorial coverage and free advertising. And all the finalists, of course, will benefit from exposure to the VCs who have expressed an interest in attending the event.

If youd like to get involved with the competition as as sponsor, email john.owen@mobilemarketingmagazine.com or call him on +44 (0) 20 7183 2920.

And in the meantime, you can find out more about how to get funding for your Big Idea from Angel investor Russell Buckley, here.