First, you should apply for Talent because of the years of experience.
Second, you should note that you can only have the MC and another two OCs. So you need to figure out how you intend to distribute the evidences across the OCs.
Third, you can use the same evidence for multiple criteria insofar that it meets the requirement.
Regarding your question,
Mandatory criteria:
This part is confusing to me. Its kind of vague mention about being recognized. Does this mean this mean awards, titles, media publications, etc.?
Yes, it means all those. For instance, have you had like an MIT Innovator Award or invited to speak at an Industry-level tech conference or the likes or have you published in a reputable conference proceeding or journal? These are all acceptable examples.
So, as an example, you could have the paper that you published under MC as well as under OC4 (or just under the MC) since you can have other evidences for OC1, OC2 and OC3. Your 14k star Github repo can also go for MC and OC3 at the same time.
More importantly, you have to really digest the tech nation guide. There are examples of what qualifies as MC or OCs accordingly.
I would recommend that you ask one or more senior persons to write reference letters speaking specifically to your contributions in your different product-led companies.
Take a look at another prospective applicant’s profile and the suggestions given by Alexnk, Help review my application (Talent, Business)