I’m currently preparing my GTV application under the Exceptional Promise, Business route and would really appreciate any feedback on whether my structure and evidence are strong enough.
I was promoted from being a content developer to the digital marketing manager in 2022, thus I have 3 years experience in digital marketing. I’ve worked previously as a tech journalist and SEO Content Lead (I have my bylines though the experiences were quite short at the different companies).
I currently work as the digital marketing manager for a product-led company in the UK.
LORs
CEO of the current company (artificial intelligence software development company) I work for.
CEO of an HR-tech company
CEO of a tech media company
Mandatory Criteria
How do I demonstrate that I have been recognised as (or recognised as having the potential to be) a leading talent in the digital technology sector in the last 5 years?
Evidence of my work at the company I work for, describe my work experience, the work I did and impact. Screenshot of employment contract, showing the metrics, increase brand awareness. Managing social media- screenshot of media recognition, other notable recognitions on LinkedIn.
Published Editorial Pieces in notable media. Screenshot of article showing date and authorship, highlighting mention Renowed Industry publication. Screenshot of cover story with name and title and also feature.
Evidence of the case studies I worked on for a major project my company is doing with London Stock Exchange Group. Led the involvement in our marketing efforts that had an impact to our sales process for LSEG. Screenshot of the case study I worked on. Screenshot of social media post on LinkedIn for the announcement and the document I worked on for the announcement.
Reference letter to back up point 3 from a senior person I worked on.
Side option to replace point 1 - letter of promotion at work and support letter from three HR to back up my impact within the organisation.
Optional Criteria 1
How do I demonstrate that I have a proven track record of innovation in the digital technology sector as a founder or senior executive of a product-led digital technology company or an employee working in a new digital field or concept?
Hosted webinars at the product-led company. Invited notable leaders in the space, including NVIDIA Director of Developer Relations, Cross-Geo and some others. Screenshot of the email exchange with the director and the positive feedback on the webinars I had hosted.
Evidence of building our mailing list and the screenshot of the responses I get from people. Screenshot showing the growth and impact.
Supporting letter to back up point 1.
Optional Criteria 3: How do I demonstrate that I have made a 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?
Commercial contribution (As a business Applicant)
Evidence of leading the marketing of the edtech arm of the current company I work for, screenshots of generated leads, paid leads etc. for each cohort and the overall growth.
Reference letter to back up point 1 from the former Academy Director
Overall social media growth for both the edtech arm and the parent company.
Questions
Can the CEO of the current company I work for also provide a supporting letter asides the reference letter?
Can I add my bylines from the previous place I’ve worked as a tech journalist, shaping tech conversations? If yes, where can I add that?
Does getting a support letter from the HR of the current company I work with attesting to my impact make any difference and where can I add that?
Can the CEOs of the different tech media company I worked for give me reference letters?
Your current application set will require significant improvement to meet the TN guidelines for success.
More precisely,
MC1: do the media recognitions mention your name? LinkedIn mentions are not valid per guidelines. This evidence looks more like doing your job well versus significantly leading something that had industry recognition. Pay attention to the positioning as the former is a key flag for rejection I have seen in many rejections.
MC2: are these leading tech publications? Is the nature of articles to do with tech? Can you show any engagement stats that will help in demonstrating scale?
MC3/4: what exactly is this to show? You need to show work that had industry recognition as part of MC. Social media and LinkedIn evidences are not considered by TN per guidelines. If the case study had a solid impact in the industry then it’s worthy of mentioning otherwise it can be flagged as part of work.
OC1.1: internal webinars and initiatives are not considered valid by TN per guidelines. You need to show product or digital innovation within the company that had an impact shown by market traction. There’s no innovation in hosting company webinars.
OC1.2: what is the innovation in mailing list? This won’t qualify.
OC3: is the social media growth significant? Please include the impact on the company because of this social media growth like #users, #customers, revenue, click through, etc. and have a strong reference letter that can validate the impact of this social media growth on core company metrics. Similarly for the first evidence, you need to translate the impact of these leads on the company’s growth metrics. Otherwise these will be weak.
Your current evidence structure has several gaps that need addressing before you submit. I’ve reviewed many digital marketing applications and your case shares patterns I’ve seen lead to rejections.
Your mandatory criteria is weak. LinkedIn mentions and social media screenshots don’t count as industry recognition per Tech Nation guidelines. The LSEG case study looks like standard job work unless you can show external third-party validation of its industry impact. Your published articles need to be in leading tech publications with measurable engagement metrics, not general media outlets.
For OC1, hosting company webinars and building mailing lists won’t qualify as innovation. I’ve seen multiple rejections where internal initiatives were dismissed entirely. You need to show product or digital innovation that had market traction outside your company. Growing an email list is a business outcome, not a tech innovation.
Your OC3 evidence needs concrete commercial impact tied to company metrics. Social media growth numbers mean nothing without showing how they translated to revenue, customer acquisition, or market expansion. The edtech marketing work could qualify if you document how those generated leads directly impacted company growth with third-party verification from someone senior who can validate those numbers. Every piece of evidence must connect your individual contribution to measurable business outcomes that advanced the company itself, not just your team’s performance.
Hello @pahuja
Thank you so much for taking the time to review my draft and share this detailed feedback. I really appreciate it.
To give more context, my current role as Digital Marketing Manager at a UK-based product-led AI company goes beyond campaign execution. I lead our marketing strategy and product communications, particularly around our AI product launches and partnerships.
MC 1: I want to use this to show that I work for a product-led company. Show my employment contract and letter of promotion. If this doesn’t work, can I replace it with my salary growth progression, compare it with industry standards using Glassdoor and Payscale to show how I earned above the average marketer (in my role) in my home country?
MC 2: They are in the tech division of mainstream publications, they are thought-leadership articles, conversations around AI, data, or digital innovation and interviews. I might not be able to show the engagement stats because the media house might not be able to share.
MC 3: I led the marketing effort, which in turn impacted our partnership and sales process for LSEG. I think this might fit for commercial impact for OC 3.
OC 1/2: Alright, well noted. I was hoping that featuring top industry leaders in AI could qualify as something.
OC 3: Sure, I can include the impact on the company’s growth metrics.
Based on this context, would you say these directions better align with what Tech Nation expects under the MC and OC criteria? I’d be grateful for any further thoughts before I refine my evidence.
Thank you for your review and feedback, I appreciate!
I led the marketing effort which in turn impacted our partenrship and sales process for LSEG. But I’m unable to get an external third-party validation especially from the LSEG team for security purposes. If I’m able to get one internally to discuss my impact, would that suffice?
I can gather evidences for the edtech marekting on the generated leads and how it impact the company’s growth. However, for more context, the edtech arm of the UK comapny focuses on training Africans in AI and Data Analytics. Is that good enough and wouldn’t be flagged?
Also, please I would like to ask the following?
Can the CEO of the current company I work for also provide a supporting letter asides the reference letter?
Can I add my bylines from the previous place I’ve worked as a tech journalist, shaping tech conversations? If yes, where can I add that?
Does getting a support letter from the HR of the current company I work with attesting to my impact make any difference and where can I add that?
Can the CEOs of the different tech media company I worked for give me reference letters?
Only if it is relevant to digital technology. Potentially MC or OC2.
Nope. It has to be an industry expert.
Yes.
I think you have some fundamental misunderstandings about the technation documents. Are you actually aware of who can and cannot write a letter for you?