Kindly Review Request - Business Exceptional Talent

Dear friends,

Firstly, I want to thank you for your time and consideration. I believe I have all the necessary documents ready to apply for the Exceptional Talent visa in the Business Technology sector. I would greatly appreciate it if you could review them and provide any feedback.

I am originally from Iran and currently residing in the UK on a dependent visa. Last year, I registered a company, and I recently filed taxes for approximately £40,000 in revenue. My company operates in the education sector and will soon become an EdTech startup. We are currently in the MVP phase with over 1,400 members participating free of charge.

I have over 14 years of experience working in major technology companies and startups in Iran, primarily as a Business Development Director. My expertise is in Business Technology, mentoring, and lecturing in my home country. Additionally, I am currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at an online webinar service company in Iran and the founder of my own startup.

Please review my documents:

Mandatory Letters:

  1. A letter from the CEO of the largest Group Buying website in Iran (Like GroupOn), where I served as Sales Development Manager from 2018 to 2020. The CEO recommends me as a professional in Business Technology.

  2. A letter from the CEO of the largest Cloud Computing company in Iran, where I was the Business Development Director from 2020 to 2023. The CEO endorses me as a Business Technology and Cloud Computing Business Solution expert.

  3. A letter from the CEO of a company with over 1,500,000 members that provides webinar services and online classes in Iran, where I am currently an Entrepreneur in Residence. I launched a SaaS-based service there.

Mandatory Evidence:

  1. Evidence related to the second mandatory letter, detailing my activities and achievements, confirming the CEO’s letter. This evidence highlights an AI-based service I launched, which significantly increased revenue.

  2. Evidence for the third mandatory letter, showcasing my achievements after launching the SaaS system and providing insights into the SaaS environment.

  3. Evidence related to the first mandatory letter. Despite challenges in obtaining evidence from over four years ago, I have compiled documentation supporting the CEO’s letter and my achievements, such as launching a Cash Back system that increased revenue.

  4. High Profile Speaking: Videos and photos of my public speeches on Business Technology for MBA and DBA students at one of Iran’s top universities, as well as talks on cloud computing.

  5. High Salary: Documentation showing my high salary range at the Cloud Computing and Online Webinar companies.

  6. Lecturing Experience: Documents highlighting my voluntary lecturing at a top higher education institute in Iran, teaching Business Technology and Cloud in Businesses, with photos from my classes and online sessions showing attendance of over 150 students.

Optional Evidence:

  1. Additional evidence related to the second mandatory letter, showing four other product-led services I launched and a business and financial plan I wrote for a $1 million investment in a new data center.

  2. A letter from the CEO of the company interested in investing in our data center, confirming my negotiations and business plan.

  3. A letter from the COO of the largest online ticketing travel company in Iran, confirming my development of a B2B platform for online ticket purchases, where I worked before 2018.

  4. A letter from an AI expert in a leading AI-based company in the US, who mentors me for my EdTech startup, helping develop an AI-based EdTech platform.

  5. A letter from a top higher education group in Iran, detailing my mentorship of entrepreneurs and startups to develop their businesses with technology.

  6. Documentation of my startup and company revenue and current MVP status in the UK, including a letter from an official accountant confirming over £40,000 revenue last year.

I understand I have more documents than required and need to remove some. I would appreciate any feedback and guidance on strengthening my application.

Thank you!


Hi @Vahid_Mohammadi

Which two OCs are you applying to?

  • The current evidence OC set looks very heavy on letters and self documentation which can be a weak spot. Do you have external evidences of the products you speak about like media mentions, PR, proof of product in market, customer testimonials, social media mentions,. Etc?

Your mandatory criteria speaking event may not be very strong as they are looking for speaker evidence at leading digital technology event. The lecturing event also may not be apt for MC.

Dear Pahuja,
Thank you for your response.

Actually, As my whole document is more than the required number of documents, probably I will combine some of the letters in 1 document with the link. Please note that one of this documents emphasizes that I was a mentor there and I think I should write about my mentorship sessions as well (I don’t know).

If you mean PR only about the product, yes, it has too much PR evidence about my Cash Back product, my Cloud Computing product in Social and News.

About mandatory criteria speaking, this is not one speech, this is 2 different speeches and 1 another tech speech.

You mean the other evidence would be good and I should work more on these documents, right?

I appreciate your time again.

Which 2 OCs are you applying for?

Do the PR mention your name?

I haven’t decided yet, and actually, I don’t know which of 2 OCs I want to apply yet.

PR always is about product launching or introducing the product, not a person, so unfortunately no, my name is not in the PR. What can I do?

  • Please go through the 4 OCs and select the two where you can provide maximum evidence. From your high level draft it looks like you may be apt for OC1 and OC3. Also go through OC2 if you think that’s better for you.

  • Is there proof of product in market? You may have to create linkages with reference letters.

Please go through the TN guidelines and reframe your evidences under 1 MC and 2 selected OCs - will have better clarity then.

Dear Pahuja,
Thank you for the perfect advice, however, do you think that my application would be fit for exceptional talent overall?

From your high level overview it looks like you would be eligible.

Thank you so much for your time, I appreciate it.

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