Request for application review (structure, documentation, and supporting evidence)

Stage 1
1

Hi everyone, I’m currently the Founder & CEO of an early-stage HealthTech startup (started Aug 2023). I’ve been working in digital technology for 5 years, starting as a Senior Business Analyst in the digital transformation division of a major bank, and later as an AI consultant before founding my company. I am a certified Google TensorFlow AI Developer with more than 40 certificates in AI, and I am also a fully funded PhD candidate in Business Studies.

I’m planning to apply for the Exceptional promise route and would appreciate your feedback on my evidence:

LORs:

  1. Head of MedTech at a major accelerator & COO of a venture firm - worked with me for 2+ years through the accelerator program
  2. Programme Director of a leading cancer tech accelerator, Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur - supervised my participation in two cohorts where I received an award
  3. Healthcare industry veteran (20+ years, $170M+ raised, 30+ patents, NASDAQ IPO experience) - my business advisor since company inception
  4. My PhD Co-supervisor

MCs:

  1. 3 certificates related to my participation at HealthTech accelerators (2024 & 2025)
  2. Selected as a Top 12 finalist in a prestigious accelerator for pitching to investors and experts and received the ‘Validation Seeker’ award certificate.
  3. University of Entrepreneurship Award (certificate)- “Highly Commended” Student Future Awards for Entrepreneurship at my university + Featured at HealthTech startup map of NHS.
  4. Evidence of presenting at startup fair of UCL MedTech Conference with 100+ attendees each + certificate
  5. A letter from a big US-based company that they interested in our solution to be implemented in their company

OC1 (Innovation track record):

  1. Technical documentation of my algorithm addressing + (GitHub codebase) + Video of my MVP prototype + Presentation deck
  2. A letter from a professor at Cambridge university for supervising my proof of concept at Cambridge university
  3. MVP validation through hospital MDT observations (Bristol hospital + letters) + interviews with clinical experts

OC4 (Academic excellence):

  • Evidence of fully funded PhD covering tuition fees and monthly stipends
  • Referral from my supervisor
  • PhD poster presentation winner, 2024 & 2025 at my university (certificate)
  • Teaching at university to master students

My Questions:

Firstly, I was wondering whether you see any chance for this case. Then, I would really appreciate your guidance on the following:

  1. Should I include my role as a Student Engagement Coach at university (mentored 1,000+ students, 60% credit failure reduction) under OC2, even though it was paid?
  2. Is my evidence distribution optimal, or would you recommend moving some documents between criteria?
  3. Do you see any concerns with my startup being early-stage and not yet generating significant revenue? HealthTech and life science startups typically take longer to generate both revenue and funding.

Thank you for your time and feedback!

Best,

Taha

2

Your application shows strong potential, especially with your healthcare focus and PhD backing. I’ve seen similar HealthTech applicants succeed by emphasizing the unique challenges and longer development cycles in this sector.

For your evidence distribution, I’d recommend moving your Student Engagement Coach role to OC2 since it’s work done out of your day-to-day job. Your OC1 evidence looks solid - the Cambridge supervision letter and hospital validation letters are particularly strong pieces I’ve seen work well in past applications. Consider adding more technical documentation around your algorithm and MVP, as assessors appreciate seeing the innovation process clearly documented.

The early-stage nature of your startup could be a major concern, especially given current assessments I’ve seen. Being early-stage is fine but you need to showcase strong growth numbers in either revenue or users. Focus your personal statement on the unique value proposition of your solution and how your academic-industry hybrid approach positions you to advance UK’s digital health sector. Your fully funded PhD status actually strengthens your exceptional promise case significantly.

2 Likes
4

Thank you so much for your helpful guidance and for taking the time to respond to my questions. I truly appreciate your insights.
Regarding my role as a Student Engagement Coach, I just wanted to clarify — since this was a part-time paid position at my university while I was pursuing my PhD, can I bring it as part of OC2 evidence, or would that not be considered valid? I can also provide both my contract and a recommendation from my line manager to support this.

Thanks again for your support and kind advice and looking forward to your reply.

5

I think being paid for it is fine. Make sure to note it wasn’t your main source of employment and that you were doing it on the side.

1 Like