Hello everyone,
I got my endorsement September 28 and thought to share a summary of my application.
I applied on the 11th of September and got endorsed on the 28th of September after 2 edits. Endorsement email came in a day after the last edit.
I am a product manager with technical knowledge across design and programming. I have worked in traditional banking as a product & design manager and currently at a startup as a technical product manager
I am also a cofounder of a startup that connects early stage founders with resources they need to start, sustain and scale their businesses.
LoRs:
Ex- Line Manager (Now a director at Mastercard)
Founder of an open banking startup
My co-founder (VP at a VC firm)
Mandatory criteria:
Evidence of my contribution building a digital bank. Added the traction ($3bn transaction processed), designs i did, screenshot of github repo for some of the code written (links for accessors to verify) and national award the digital bank received.
Evidence of my contribution building a conversational banking application on WhatsApp and newspaper clipping of recognition. Also my Promotion letter after the success of the digital bank.
Evidence of high salary. offer letter compared to Nigeria industry standard captured. screenshot of payscale to provide context
Optional criteria 2
Evidence of mentorship. I was a guest tutor at a product design bootcamp. Added event flier. Link to Zoom recording. Post-event message from the organiser. I also provided a lot of context about the event and talked about the importance to the ecosystem.
Evidence of my work as a product and design consultant for startups. Again provided enought context for my work. Provided screenshots of LinkedIn recommendations from the founders of the company and talked about what those startups have achieved. Added link to one that was listed as startup to look out for in 2022 and another recieved a grant from LSE (Added the screenshot of LinkedIn Announcement).
Optional Criteria 3
Evidence of my involvement as a co-founder in my startup and key partnerships I closed
Evidence of my startup traction. 450k USD worth of value delivered to black founders, a commitment from a VC to help a founder we connected them to raise seed funding and a Founder’s feedback after an event we did that connected them with a VC.
Evidence of my contribution building an embedded finance and open banking infrastructure, traction (amount processed in 3 months - $80m; 1k onboarded businesses) and reference letter co-signed by my former line manager and head of engineering.
I hope this helps.
