Request for Application Review - Exceptional Talent (Business Applicant)

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1

Hello Everyone,

I wish to thank all members of this forum for the insightful contributions which have enabled several industry talents to secure the GTV. I will be applying under the Exceptional Talent pathway and would like to seek your candid review of my documents.

Background

I have 8 years’ professional experience in total (7 years in health technology sector and one year in management consulting). For my work in health tech which is the focus of my application, I have held senior roles in Marketing & Communications, Business Development, Partnerships, Growth, and Strategy.

Documents

  • Personal Statement

  • CV

  • LOR 1 from CEO of Company A where I led Business, Strategy & Investment in mid 2022 till end of 2023. He was also the former CEO of a digital health company where I worked in 2017 – 2019

  • LOR 2 from COO of Company B where I led BizDev & Marketing in 2020 – 2022

  • LOR 3 from a top Manager at a UK-based Tech Innovation Lab backing early-stage tech startups and founders. Same person is a past recipient of the GTV – ET pathway and we worked on a project together in 2022.

MC 1a (3 pages)

  • Screenshot of news headline of a major business deal by Company A in 2022

  • Screenshot of news headline of equity investment raised by Company A in 2023

  • Screenshot of a contract award letter from Company A’s biggest client in Dec 2023

  • I added news links under the first two screenshots for further verification

MC 1b (2 pages)

  • The news articles in MC1a only mention the CEO. So I got a support letter from a Senior Manager at Company A to emphasize how I led each of the three projects

MC2a (3 pages)

  • Picture of me speaking on the main stage at a high-profile health technology sector event in July 2023

  • Picture of me receiving an award of recognition at the event

  • Pictures of the cross section of attendees

  • Screenshot of Thank You note sent to me by the event organizer who is also a health technology industry expert

MC2b (2 pages)

  • Support letter from the event organizer in MC2a. The letter describes the nature and size of the event (300+), confirmed that I was invited because of my industry expertise and contributions to the health tech sector, summarized the topics I spoke about, and briefly profiled other guest speakers.

MC3a (3 pages)

  • Screenshots of my public interview on a Live TV programme in July 2021. I briefly explained in three lines that I discussed various healthcare topics such as emerging trends in digital health insurance, investment opportunities, data challenges, and human capacity development.

  • I added a link to the interview recording posted on Vimeo for further verification

  • Screenshot of me speaking on the business of healthcare and health tech trends on a YouTube blog in Jan 2023. The video currently has 1,100 views (does this work?)

OC2a (3 pages)

  • Screenshot of conversations between me and a mentee of a structured mentorship programme while planning a conference which took place in Sept 2023 to promote health innovation. I also helped them to secure brand sponsorships for the event

  • Screenshot of testimonials from some of the conference attendees

  • Picture of me seating front row among the Special Guests

  • I also added a link to the event video highlights posted on the programme’s IG page

  • Screenshot of appreciation message sent to me by another mentee whom I supported in 2022

OC2b (2 pages)

  • Support letter from the Managing Partner at a US-based health tech startup explaining the structure of the mentorship programme, my contribution as a mentor since 2014, how I have helped mentees to secure internship placement at tech companies, and the far-reaching impact of my contribution. Same person is a mentor in the programme.

OC2c (3 pages)

  • This shows a career bootcamp I co-organized in July 2019 where 120+ young graduates were trained by industry leaders on how to leverage I.T. and networking skills to grow their careers in various industries (including tech).

  • Screenshot of testimonials posted online by two attendees who appreciated my involvement. I also added links to two more testimonials for further verification

  • Pictures from the event showing the workshop sessions and a picture of me presenting an appreciation award to one of the Guest Speakers

OC3a (3 pages)

  • Screenshot of the customer orientation framework which I developed in 2020 for Company B’s telemedicine product. The framework laid the foundation for the product’s marketing and growth strategy

  • Screenshot of the socio-economic model which I also developed in 2020 for the same product. The framework was the launchpad of the product’s expansion into two countries.

  • Screenshot of the product user growth chart in 2021.

  • Screenshot of Tech Crunch news headline of Series A investment in Company B

  • Screenshot of Tech Crunch news headline of Series B investment in Company B

OC3b (2 pages)

  • Again, the articles only mentioned the CEO. So, I got a support letter from the CTO at Company B to explain the impact of my frameworks, product growth, and to validate my role in the fundraising projects announced in OC3a screenshots above.
2

Letter of recommendation, avoid using or referring people you worked for more than five years 2027-2019 may be considered outside of give years if the assessor decides to assume it was earlier on 2019. Best to look at the most recent with 1-4 years to avoid any confusion.

You evidence appears to have more than 3 pages. All evidence have a 3 Page limit.Have you googled yourself to see what comes up in the search. What is you public profile and internet footprint like?

Mandatory criteria.

  1. Since the articles didn’t mention you name it is not really useful. So the reference latter should be the main evidence. If you insist, you can fit screen shot and links to the article in one page.

  2. Fit all MC(2a) into two pages, the letter should be a page and be page 3. You can submit more than 3 pages per evidence.

  3. Evidence three the TV interview should standalone, should not be linked to the YouTube tech trend, as it is unrelated.

OC2

  1. From the description this this not a structured programme. Do they have a website that explains how mentors apply and get selected from the programme. Mentoring in a startup is not sufficient. Chats between you and a mentee doesn’t proof anything. Also mentioning 2014 is out of the evidence range. I know you meant since 2014 but that information is not necessary as it could be misinterpreted.

,2. The bootcamp may meet the criteria but be mindful that July 2019 is almost outside the 5 years mark.

OC3…

For evidence 2 aside the customer frame work, do you have evidence of the sales pipeline and revenue generated. No need for the news clipping it doesn’t have your name.

Reference letter detailing your marketing result and contributions to investment fundraising should be in a standalone letter no need adding new clipping that doesn’t mention your name…

In all, you still do not have sufficient evidence to meet all criteria. If you can submit a minimum of three evidence in each criteria. Submitting just two in OC2 may not be sufficient as some of your evidence are not so strong.

3

Thank you for taking the time to share feedback. I’ll rearrange the documents in line with your tips and see what happens next. Cheers.

4

Hello All,

Following my previous post, I received further support from a previous GTV recipient who helped to restructure my application over a period of 1 week. I also read additional insights from this forum before I submitted the final deck.

Here’s what my final submission looked like:

  1. Personal Statement

  2. CV

  3. LOR from a Global Cancer Innovation & Digital Oncology Company CEO

  4. LOR from a Healthtech & Data Innovation Startup COO

  5. LOR from Senior Manager at a UK-based Tech Innovation Lab

Mandatory

1a – Evidence of speaking at a sector leading event on health technology. Pictures of me speaking on the main stage, pictures of the audience, link to video of me speaking on stage, screenshot of thank-you note from event organizer, screenshot of public acknowledgement of my participation as well as attendance of top government representatives at the event.

1b – Support letter from the event organizer in 1a above confirming the audience size, reason why I was invited, topics I spoke about (one of which was the video link I added to the evidence document), and brief profile of other panelists.

2a – Evidence of leading commercial growth at an insurtech startup, short description of 3 major deals I secured for the company along with contract letters, admin dashboard validating the number of subscribers (10k+) added.

2b – Support letter from company CEO validating evidence 2a, confirming the specific metrics generated, and substantiating my performance.

3 – Evidence of speaking on National TV on a broad spectrum of healthcare issues (digital health insurance, healthcare data policy, corporate governance, etc.), link to interview recording, further description of the TV station.

Optional 2

2a – Evidence detailing my contribution to a non-profit social mentorship programme for the past 4+ years. Concise details of my time commitments and frequency of mentorship, details on how I help mentees to secure internships / full-time roles at tech companies, website screenshot confirming my affiliation with the programme, additional evidence of co-organizing a conference on health technology & innovation for the programme, testimonials from conference attendees detailing the impact of the conference.

2b – Support letter from a tech startup CEO who further described the structure of the above mentorship programme, validated the details on my mentorship contribution, explained how the programme has helped to nurture the tech talent pool, and confirmed that his company provides internship opportunities for mentees from the programme.

2c – Evidence detailing my contribution to organizing a career bootcamp, pictures of attendees (100+), screenshot of public testimonials by attendees who also acknowledged my involvement, screenshots of chats and timestamps proving that I personally invited two of the Guest facilitators.

Optional 3

3a – Evidence of impactful contribution to the commercial growth of a telemedicine product at another health-tech company, screenshots of frameworks, concepts, and growth strategies developed, dashboard showing user growth recorded following the implementation of the frameworks and strategies, additional context on how these strategy documents and user growth fueled new Series A & B investments in the company.

3b – Support letter from CTO explaining the above impact, confirming the specific metrics, and substantiating my performance.

It’s been three weeks since I submitted, and I haven’t received an update on my application. I reckon there are several others who also submitted in late May / June who are yet to get an update. Hopefully, the update will come soon.

Thank you and good luck to everyone.

5

Good luck! Keep us posted on your endorsement :slight_smile:

6

Thank you @pahuja. I will do so. Also, I may consider sending an email to Home Office if I don’t get an update after the 5th week. I’ve read comments from contributors on the forum who confirmed that they sent emails after the 8th week only to be told that decisions had been made since the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th week of their submission.

1 Like
7

It doesn’t hurt sending an email now.