When Cyril Roy, a Kottayam native, landed at Kochi airport in 2016, ending a six-year stint in the UK, he had just ₹20,000 in hand and an unpaid migration loan. The hotel management graduate had then resolved not to leave Kerala again. Life had other plans for him.
In 2026, Mentor Merlin UK Ltd, the UK-based healthcare education startup Cyril co-founded with Thrissur native Hermercheese Balan, was named Innovator of the Year by Envestors, one of the UK Home Office–recognised endorsement bodies, after making a significant impact on nurses’ recruitment.
“The timing of my return made no sense to many,” recalls Cyril, now 36, who completed his master’s in hospitality management in the UK. “I was just a year away from permanent residency. Thousands were desperate for that opportunity, and I chose to walk away. People thought I had made a huge mistake.”
Back in Kerala, uncertainty defined Cyril’s life. With no financial cushion, he tried to reinvent himself—first as a writer, then as a filmmaker—but neither translated into a sustainable career. It was during this unsettled phase that he spotted a gap that would later shape his future: the absence of structured training and mentorship for Computer-Based Tests (CBT) required for overseas nurse recruitment to the UK.
“There was no organised CBT training at the time,” he says. “So I studied the syllabus myself, developed materials, and began teaching.” Business, he adds, was always at the back of his mind. “Hospitality taught me business fundamentals, but the work felt repetitive. I wanted to build something scalable—something that could genuinely help people.”
In 2018, he launched Cyril Roy Consultancy Pvt Ltd in Kochi. The bootstrapped venture scaled rapidly, employing around 45 people within a year and facilitating nearly 100 nurse recruitments in just two months. “If you solve a real problem well, money will follow,” Cyril says.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Exams were suspended, services shrank, and the team was downsized. Around this time, Cyril connected with Hermercheese Balan, who holds a postgraduate degree in strategic management from the UK and has professional experience across Kerala and Kuwait. Hermercheese had been exploring a return to the UK through the entrepreneur visa route then.
“He had already studied how this model could scale in the UK,” Cyril says. “The groundwork was there.” Hermercheese moved to the UK in 2020; Cyril followed in 2021. “We always wanted to build something of our own,” Hermercheese says. “The startup visa process is strenuous. You’re constantly evaluated, expected to hit milestones, and must transition within a fixed timeframe. Many don’t make it and are forced to return.”
Mentor Merlin began operations in Northampton in 2021, focusing on training healthcare professionals for OET, NMC CBT and OSCE examinations as the duo identified a critical bottleneck in the UK’s healthcare recruitment pipeline—particularly for nurses. “Many arrive on carer visas and later try to move into NHS roles, which require clearing the OSCE,” Cyril explains. “Between work schedules and financial pressure, most can’t commit to long-term courses. Others struggle even before reaching the UK.”
Their solution was a hybrid, time-bound model: online learning and study materials, followed by an intensive five-day on-site programme located close to exam centres. Candidates were sent for exams immediately after. “The outcomes were exceptional,” he says. “We were delivering results in under a week—something that usually took months.”
Mentor Merlin has since built an AI-integrated platform that connects recruiters and candidates through a centralised system, streamlining training, applications and placements. “Neither of us comes from a medical background,” Hermercheese notes. “We invested heavily in understanding the sector, researching requirements and designing mentoring strategies that actually work.”
From a rented two-room facility in Northampton, the company has grown to own a four-storey building and now operates six centres across the UK. It employs over 30 people, most of them Malayalis. While the venture began as a bootstrapped effort, it later received funding and institutional backing, with endorsement bodies conducting continuous evaluations and compliance checks.
Beyond healthcare training, the founders have begun diversifying. Their latest initiatives include a VR-based product aimed at improving elderly wellbeing and mental health, along with explorations into renewable energy, green talent pipelines and other tech-driven social-impact solutions.
“These are new sectors for us,” Hermercheese says. “We’re learning, testing and assessing long-term potential.” For Cyril, the journey underscores the power of persistence and partnership. “Everything we’ve built came from teamwork,” he says.
