Endorsed: Exceptional Talent

Stage 1
1

Hey all,
I hope you’re well. I was endorsed by tech nation for exceptional talent after a month.
Date of submission on Tech Nation: 31 May
Date of acceptance email: June 28

These are my evidences.
Mandatory Criteria
1-1- MC- Co-founding FinTech Startup (Proven track record of innovation in Digital Technolgoy Sector)
1-2- MC- (Acquisition, Investment agreement, Notice of changes, Audited
financials, Valuation)
1-3- MC- Founding Tourism Startup)-Proven track record of innovation in Digital Technolgoy Sector
1-4- MC- Speaking at High Profile Event- Proof of recognition for work outside my immediate
occupation
1-5- MC- Expert Role in assessing work of others (Elsevier Journal Peer Reviewer) and academic contribution-
Proof of recognition outside my immediate occupation

Optional Criteria
OC2:
2-4- OC2- Top 36 Entrepreneurs selected by UNIDO and most influential leaders in FinTech- Personal
Recognition and Public Speaking
2-5- OC2- Co-organizing ProductTank Birmingham and proven mentorship track record- Recognised for my work
outside of my immediate occupation

OC3:
2-1- OC3- Leadership in product-led digital technology companies in FinTech
2-2- OC3- Entrepreneur in Residence at (EdTech startup)- Leadership in business development, scale up and
growth of a product-led digital technology company
2-3- OC3- Lead Product Manager at (Ride-hailing product-led digital tech company)- Significant commercial
and entrepreneurial contributions

For the 2-1-OC3 I had put 6 additional reference letters in one file (two on each page half page format) just in case. You can even put 1 or two letters and use it as evidence.

My main sector was FinTech and regardless of being a founder, my main expertise was Product.

Just to note, you can do the following or dont but I assume it might help:
1- I DocuSigned all letters and made sure all of them have the same emails on their LinkedIn pages.
2- My LinkedIn page was already well formatted but again took a look. Especially check for dates being the same as your cv, sometimes by mistake you might put different dates. I have completed all parts on Linkedin as much as possible (https://linkedin.com/in/mahdibeee)
3- I stuck with 3 pages maximum for all documents except the recommendation letters were it also had the docusign additions and their CV attached to it as well which is Okay.
4- I provided pictures, google analytics and any possible verifiable evidence for all my documents. I also put them in a drive so all evidence was hyperlinked in my documents for them to see a larger high quality image.
5- I used Adobe to increase the quality of images since sometimes when you transform to PdF it degrades.

I have also applied for the stage 2. Btw, I am currently in the UK as a dependent of my wife who is a student and havent applied for her until after she graduates. However I havent received my visa yet and waiting. I only uploaded the email of endorsement, my passport pages and BRP for the appointment and also the appointment cost £143 pounds and took 10 minutes for biometric.

I hope you all get endorsed and have a wonderful days ahead :blush:

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2

Congratulations @mahdibeee Such a well packed application!!

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Thank you so much @pahuja

Let’s connect on LinkedIn :blush::blush:

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@mahdibeee for Elsevier Journal Peer Reviewer, how did you show the evidence? whats evidences did you screenshot? did you get an additional letter to prove this?

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So when you review papers and go on the elsevier hub, it gives you a certificate. Also on the reviewer portal there is a table showing all papers you have reviewed with the details. I just screen shotet a part and Highlighted some parts and also took a screenshot from the elsevier hub dashboard which has a chart showing reviews.

I also took full screenshots of the editors thanking me for my contributions and also other emails from editor inviting me to review but no additional letters no.

hope this helps :blush:

6

Thanks, @mahdibeee How long have you been a reviewer at elsevierbhub?

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Since 2020 :blush: But mostly actively occupied with it during 2021 to 2023. My focus shifted towards business mostly and dropped out of PhD back in September 2023 :sweat_smile:

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@mahdibeee Congratulations!
I just connected with you on LinkedIn.

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9

Congratulations @mahdibeee

Impressive submission.

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Thank you so much Mercy :smiling_face: If you’re on LinkedIn lets connect

11

@mahdibeee Congratulations !!
I have a question about Docusigned recommendation letters, Is it possible to request document from my account and the recommender upload it, sign it and send it to me without creating an account? Because I can’t see this option. Or is it acceptable if I upload and send the letter and they just sign it?

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Thank you so much.

Just receive the letter from them after they created it (maybe on a letter head) and create an account yourself, upload it and they sign the letter.

Make sense?

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@mahdibeee Got it. Thank you !!

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just make sure when ur putting the letters in your application, it specifically include first page of docusign as well which shows the details of IPs and when it was signed etc. This might mean ur letter pages is more than 3 but its okay because the main pages should be 3 excluding additional such as CV or docusign

15

Hey @mahdibeee - congratulations!

Just wanted to clarify - 2-1-OC3 - where you put 6 letters within the 3 pages, do you have a rough structure of how these letters were written?

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Hey.
I don’t know whether I picked up the question correctly or not but generally:
1- These were all top well-known executives and founders where I had a share collaboration or used/used our services previously
2- It had the exact same structure to the three recommendation letters. Detailed background story, who they are, why they think I can be considered for endorsement, what my plans are, how they knew me… and were maximum 2 pages
3- I made sure they are scanned very high quality and each A4 was split into two on the vertical side (one letter with two pages top and one letter with two pages bottom)

Hope this helps

17

Heartfelt congratulations, @mahdibeee!

Just a quick question: According to the Tech Nation Visa Guide, “each document represents a single piece of evidence.” How did Tech Nation assess your submission of six letters as “one file”?

I’d really appreciate any advice.

P.S.: I checked out your LinkedIn profile—may I reach out to you there for further questions, please? I feel we have a lot in common."

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Hi @mahdibeee!

You’ve structured your evidence very well in your application.

As an example, for your 1-2 MC, did you combine all the pieces of evidence (such as Acquisition, Investment Agreement, Notice of Changes, Audited Financials, and Valuation) into a single document? I’m asking this in reference to the Tech Nation Visa Guide, which states ‘Up to 10 pieces of evidence.’

Thanks for your insight!

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19

Congragulations. Great post for all of us to learn from.

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20

Thank you Aseman.
In response to the question, it’s important to note that I’m not in a position to speak for the reviewers’ intentions. However, based on my understanding and experience, Tech Nation assesses the overall content of the application, not just the format of individual files.

While the guide states that “each document represents a single piece of evidence,” I observed from successful applications of two friends that they combined related documents into single files, and this approach was accepted. Following this practice, I grouped related documents to present a comprehensive view of specific aspects, such as financial performance, company tax declarations, and company registration.

For instance, combining these documents into one allowed me to illustrate a cohesive picture of my role as a CEO, founder, and chair, effectively showcasing the company’s performance and my leadership. Therefore, it was more about presenting clear, consolidated evidence of my achievements rather than adhering strictly to a one-document-per-evidence approach.

Ultimately, it seems that Tech Nation considered the relevance and context of the combined documents, assessing how they contributed to the narrative of my application, rather than focusing solely on the format.

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