Sumit Agarwal: Overcoming Rejections, This Man Gets Selected As The Mentor For Change For Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog

You can’t change the direction of the wind but you certainly can set your sails right to reach where you want to. Well, that’s how Sumit Agarwal scripted his success story in the face of insurmountable odds that included Cerebral Palsy, 70 percent body movement restrictions, 4 surgeries at a young age, and a social stigma that led to his rejection from 30 schools.

Today, this young man is not only a successful entrepreneur, a TEDx speaker, and one of LinkedIn's Top Voices, but also a mentor to some of the top institutes and organisations of the country with the latest addition being his selection as a Mentor of Change for Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.

The NITI Aayog’s Mentor India program is a national movement by the Government of India to provide skilled professionals with a platform to share their knowledge, their story, and their experience with a young team of ATL innovators, who are contributing to building a more empowered India.

These skilled professionals are called the ‘Mentors of Change’. They spend time on-ground with ATL students, providing them access to a practical world to help them learn and rebuild their skillset. These Mentors of Change are pioneers in their respective fields and can provide them with an ‘inside look’ at their industry.

Sumit Agarwal: On a journey to create a more inclusive world:

Once rejected by 30 schools due to his physical disability, Sumit’s passion for learning new things and studying drove him to bag several certifications and degrees over the years

His story is a perfect example of what self-belief and perseverance can get you. After undergoing 4 surgeries, Sumit took the shot at a new life with both his hands. As painful as they were, he was grateful for this new chance. Thanking the universe for this profound opportunity, the PR Signal founder exclaims how another challenge rose for him post-surgery.

“I realized I was very different from my peers. I looked different, talked differently, and walked differently. Because of my condition, anyone who saw me treated me like an invalid person as if I was broken and needed to be fixed,” he says.

But undeterred, he completed his MBA & PGPM with a 9.05 CGPA. As fate would have it, the man rejected by various institutions is now acting as a mentor at many of those places! Sumit is dedicated to working towards DEI rights and building an inclusive ecosystem for people with disabilities.

At present, he is a visiting faculty at his alma mater, Techno India University for the MBA entrepreneurship department. Once a student, now he strives to be a mentor and deliver his insights to shaping the young generation.

The hands that shaped his resolve:

Sumit credits his parents, especially his mother for what he is today and for his passion for making a difference. His professional endeavour, a testimony of what he truly believes in is an extension of what they taught him, ‘We do not need sympathy but empathy.’ My parents assisted me in realising my self-worth when the entire world looked at me only from a disability lens.

Even during his schooling years when his mother, a successful lawyer let go of her job to provide him with an education that everyone receives, his mother would often come across people that would call his education, ‘a bad investment’!

But as he mentions, ‘she single-handedly braved every odd coming her way to ensure my schooling and post-schooling education in institutions for normal children.’ It is her resolve that instilled the confidence in him to keep going, no matter what the odds.

Getting started with PR Signal:

As he completed his education, Sumit was all set to make his mark in the corporate world. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. He got rejected wherever he applied, despite his stellar academic score and skills.

“Getting rejected from six interviews, not because of my performance, but because of my physical attributes, made me wonder why should I plead for jobs when I could give others, one. To hell with the world – if they don’t give me a job, I’ll just figure something out on my own. So, I took a leap of faith,” he explained.

And thus, PR Signal was born. A PR firm with the intent of cherishing human relationships at its core. For Sumit, it all made sense because he had always found it easier to connect with people. Whether it was during his childhood, when he spent months at the hospital talking to doctors and other patients, or during his limited social interactions with people, he observed that it all came to him naturally.

He has been working towards shaping future leaders by connecting with the youth through his 115+ speeches. Alongside, he has also formed a dedicated community of like-minded professionals on the networking platform, LinkedIn, and is a LinkedIn Top Voice with a blue tick. He has garnered over 100 million views in over three years.

His impeccable work has allowed him to connect with people from the United Nations, World Economic Forum, Forbes, and Entrepreneur and also helped him represent organizations like the Public Relations Society of India, Della Leader's Club, India Diversity Forum, Techno India University, The Indus Entrepreneurs Network, International Human Rights Organization, and many others.

There’s still a long road ahead:

Sumit has touched and changed many lives with his endeavours but he believes that there’s a lot more to be done before this world becomes truly inclusive and empathetic. He wants to go beyond mere awareness and bring real difference on the ground level where not only there’s an appropriate infrastructure to support people with special needs but also checks and balances to ensure that people are not discriminated against.