Dear all,
I applied recently for GTV under Exceptional Talent category as a Product Manager and was rejected on all criteria (MC, OC2 and OC3).
My profile: Product manager who has been head of product at now unicorn companies, cofounded multiple startups; company 1(YC backed, raised 17m), 2(raised 3m), 3(got acquired), 4(got acquired). However, only the 2nd one mentions my name in Business Insider. I specifically mentioned that I couldn’t have my own name in Bloomberg article for company 1 due to political reasons but instead made them mention my personal holding vehicle’s name.
MC: High salary, media coverage
OC2:
- a document highlighting my consulting engagements (advisor to big VC fund,
largest venture builder, 100m valued startup, to an angel investment of mine which got acquired), - link to my lecture pdf and a reference letter from the professor
OC3:
- Screenshots of team page from the fundraising decks
- screenshots of products I built
- Legal agreements highlighting my shares ownership in the companies
Excerpts from the rejection:
While the high salary proves employment, the media coverage links the candidates provided that have not been translated into English, making them eligible. The media coverage the candidate has included regarding [company I cofounded] does not mention the candidate and their contribution, so we can’t consider it as evidence for ongoing recognition. Whilst we acknowledge the significant contribution the candidate has made to [company I cofounded] as the CPTO of [another company I cofounded] and [third company I founded] , none of the companies have garnered significant traction yet, so they are difficult to consider as significant contributions that have impacted the field of technology. The candidate’s guest lecturing work at [prominent business school] is very new, so it isn’t enough to show recognition as a leading talent in the digital technology sector. There is insufficient evidence to prove the candidate’s ongoing recognition as a leading talent in the digital technology sector; therefore, we cannot award MC.
To meet Optional Criteria 2 (OC2), the candidate must prove recognition of work beyond the candidate’s occupation that contributes to the advancement of the field. Whilst we acknowledge the candidate self-authored case studies of advising four companies, there isn’t sufficient enough detail to prove how the candidate’s actual contribution was field advancing or how it was out of his day-to-day job as an advisor. The candidate’s evidence surrounding being a guest lecturer at [prominent business school] is noted but doesn’t show how this work alone has been field advancing. We cannot award OC2.
To meet Optional Criteria 3 (OC3), the candidate must prove significant technical, commercial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field as a founder, senior executive, board member or employee of a product-led digital technology company. Whilst the candidate has provided sufficient self-authored detail on how they have contributed to [the three companies I cofounded], there isn’t enough third-party verification to qualify his contribution statement. While we acknowledge the shared ownership documentation for [companies I cofounded] for now, there is no employment evidence of these ventures, which makes it challenging to qualify for the particular optional criteria. Overall, there isn’t sufficient detail to prove a significant contribution to the field through a product-led digital technology company. We cannot award OC3.
I will admit that I was perhaps overconfident of my profile and wasn’t as meticulous as I have should have been but 0/3 on criterias is insane.
Things I’m considering adding in next application:
OC3: Reference letter from cofounders proving I was indeed a cofounder
OC2: Talk about Proptech conference I co-organized with 1000+ attendees, reference letters from companies I advised, news articles of the outcomes
MC: What can I improve here?
I thought about hiring a consultant/lawyer but figured re-applying and paying 600gbp each time and getting feedback from TN itself each time is better deal than these 2000gbp one time review call consultants.
Thanks for reading, appreciative any feedback