First of all, I would like to thank the alumni / volunteers for providing guidance to aspiring global talent candidates. Truly appreciate your time and effort. Would request to please review my profile for exceptional talent - under Experienced Product Manager category
My profile - Experienced product manager , have worked in Decacorn startups in the past and owned large product areas. Currently working as the first PM along with founders defining product strategy, roadmap, etc. I worked at a top startup in UK and moved to a larger role in a global startup (I am still based out of UK) Recently won product hunt award (my name is listed as one of the makers)
Documents
- Personal statement
- CV
- LOR1 - From previous VP Product of the decacorn startup I worked at, currently he is the head of product of a company valued at $100BN
- LOR2 - From co-founder of the startup I have invested in and been leading the tech / product efforts
- LOR3 - From a director of Product of the decacorn startup I worked at , who is currently a Group Product Leader at a leading food-tech in UK
Mandatory criteria
- Evidence 1- High salary (top 2 percentile in the UK), also previous salary slips and equity options (Have multiple offer letters, equity statements, etc.)
- Evidence 2 - Letters and registration documents showing that I invested in a B2B Food-tech startup in Asia (also serving as the co-founder / investing partner outside of my regular work) - the startup is making revenues of more than $750,000 well on the way to $1 million ARR.
- Evidence 3 -Letter confirming from the CEO of the current startup I am working at confirming my role as the first Product person overseeing the entire product strategy and roadmap and working closely with the founders and exhibiting top performance
OC1
- Evidence 4 - App downloads (the decacorn startup) screenshots showing more than 5mn downloads on play store and 4.1 star rating accompanied by reference letter from my manager who can confirm I was the PM who managed this product
- Evidence 5 - Launch of a flagship product in the decacorn startup - showing wireframes and a reference letter explaining why the product was innovative from a lead PM and confirming that I was the PM who managed this product
OC3
- Evidence 6 - Product hunt maker (my name clearly specified) screenshots evidencing product launch (this product won several awards on Product Hunt) and Letter from CEO of current startup I am working at stating that I was responsible for setting up the product management processes , etc. and also part of the core team
- Evidence 7 - Launch of a flagship product in the startup I have invested in - supported by a letter from the CEO of the startup and architecture diagrams and notes evidencing my name and contribution
- Evidence 8 - Reference letter and wrireframes of product launched that led to an impact on revenue / growth in the decacorn startup
- Evidence 9 - Launch of another flagship app in the startup I have invested in - supported by a letter from the CEO of the startup and wireframe screenshots
@Francisca_Chiedu @Shreeniwas_Iyer Could you kindly share your valuable inputs? Thanks a lot!
You do not have sufficient evidence for the mandatory criteria. How do you show that you have been recognised in the sector. Aside your salary, reference letters, what other evidence do you have to show you are a recognised leader. Also for innovation the evidence is not sufficient. Is this a novel product?
Thanks for the quick response @Francisca_Chiedu, I led the growth of a product division of the decacorn company (leading to the 5 million+ downloads , several million dollars cost optimisation , etc. ) - do you think that can be added as a MC under " * You led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, product or team inside a digital technology company, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, or as evidenced by news clippings, lines of code from public repos or similar evidence."
Also there are news paper clippings of the product launch (but they don’t mention my name)
For innovation - yes this was a novel idea
Reference letters are not enough, it helps if the article mentions your name. Are you applying for talent or promise?
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My experience is just over 5 years, so would need to apply for talent (or is there a way to apply for promise?)
Thanks!
Also just wanted to check - will the panel consider my contribution as an angle investor and the fact that I helped in building the flagship products as a valid MC? @Francisca_Chiedu
Possible to also shed some light on “* You led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, product or team inside a digital technology company, as evidenced by reference letter(s) from leading industry expert(s) describing your work, or as evidenced by news clippings, lines of code from public repos or similar evidence.” - where it seems to say that reference letters might be considered?
I also have proof of bringing in commercial success as per the following criterion -
- for which I can show bank transfers / lead pipeline generated, etc. supported by a reference letter - this is for the B2B food-tech startup. Do you think that might be considered by the TN Case panel?
Thanks a lot again! 
It seems that most of your evidences are predicated on reference letters. You mentioned that your product won a lot of awards on Product Hunt and that your name is mentioned as one of the makers but it’s not clear if you have included these awards in your evidence list. Perhaps, that could address @Francisca_Chiedu’s query regarding your MC.
I think MC is best satisfied by how you are perceived from “outside” your work like if a news/media article refers your work or you directly.
Mind you, you can actually use the same evidence across multiple criteria e.g. your salary under MC can go for OC3.
If you do decide to refer to the news media about your product launch, try to include some details as well about the outlet itself and target audience (this can help: Website Traffic - Check and Analyze Any Website | Similarweb)
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Thanks for the response @ask4jubad, your suggestion to include the product hunt awards as part of the MC is very much thoughtful and could help me apply.
Also what are your thoughts about the angel investment in the B2B startup that I have made - it is something I have done outside of my work? Will the panel consider that?
I think the hint is in your question itself, if you consider it as being “outside your work”, why have you not included it under OC2? Just thinking out loud.
Now, the real concern is just investing does not pass any message across - the key to OC2 is to demonstrate how your investment advances the sector. For instance, was the investment put into R&D, customer acquisition, or helped the company attain substantial revenue? Or do you think it covers this example under MC for instance?
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You are right. Contributing as an angel Investor does really count for OC2 as supporting a single startup is not sufficient. Besides angel investment is most done to benefit the investor in the future.
@Francisca_Chiedu general question for MC - if I have revenue proof (like bank account transfers etc.), order data and get a letter from a co-founder stating that the non-technical founder was indeed the one who generated leads be good to go? (and can share screenshots of excel sheets stating my name against the leads etc.)
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you can explain that since the startup has a lean team, you wore both that as the technical and commercial hat.
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