Entrepreneur Sumit Agarwal overcame cerebral palsy challenges to open his own Public Relations firm
By 2020, the PR industry is supposed to reach a turnover of up to 2,000 crores.
Q: What inspired you to open your own Public Relations Company?
Sumit Agarwal: I grew up absurdly lonely, a product of cerebral palsy, 4 surgeries, 70 percent movement restriction, and two incredible parents – who never gave up on me even when they could. Growing up, I looked different, talked different, walked different and because of my condition – I was judged, mocked, laughed at, and I didn’t have a lot of people I could call friends. That’s where my obsession with people, and relationships, and what drove human beings, began. I spent many months in the hospital – and with death looming over my head every time I entered the operating table, I found comfort in the hospital staff and other patients around me and their company. Social interaction limited, I had to work hard to move to be, and become “normal”. I understood why people do what they do, what matters to them when they’re inches away from death, and why, in the end, we’re all just striving to achieve our own individual definitions of “normal”. From there, honestly, PR was a natural transition. I define PR as dealing with the crucial dynamics of deeper connectivity with people across all sections of society. That’s what I did then -- surrounded by people fighting death, struggling to outrun my loneliness, and isolation -- that’s what I do now. I understand human beings behind a brand, create narratives, and then use my network to help them share why they do what they do, their struggle to find their definition of “normal”, and how they’re striving to make this world a better place through this struggle -- their business, start-up, organization, and non-profit. Human connection, the bridges that they rest on, and their why, a core principle for me and my company.
Q:Inspite of facing various physical challenges, why did you decide to open your own company rather than going for a job?
Sumit Agarwal:It’s funny, but, I did sit for jobs. But, sadly, during the interviews, people cared less about how good I was at the job, or the ideas I had, or my qualifications. From the moment they laid eyes on me, their perception about me was already created, even before I could say a single word. It’s not entirely their fault either, the corporate world needs more inclusion and role models to look up to with respect to the differently abled community. That’s when I decided to open my own public relations company. The idea was, I had to prove that I could do what anyone else could do, and my condition wasn’t a disability -- so that someone else out there, facing the same, could hold on to hope. That they could do what I do, today, tomorrow, and just because you don’t fit into people’s definition of normal, doesn’t mean you’re bad at your job or any less than someone else society would consider “normal”. Looking back, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve taken.
Q: Would you consider yourself as a role model for other differently abled persons attempting to enter the employment sector?
Sumit Agarwal: Growing up, my mother quit her job as a distinguished lawyer, to fight to keep me alive. My parents made incredible sacrifices for me even when they could have just chosen not to. Each time, I’d enter the operating room, the doctor would tell my mother I might not make it. Each and every single time, my mother would stay up many many nights, crying desperate tears with no support in sight. That’s why this isn’t about me. This is for brave parents like mine, with children like me. Through my story, my company, the success we’ve had, I want to reach them. Reach them -- show them, tell them, and promise them that it’s possible. You don’t have to give up, people like us can strive to be better than we’re supposedly destined to be. If I reach even one, and my story helps them to hold on to hope, to fight, to not give up on their child, son, or daughter, I’d know my time here, was worth it. My journey here, was worth it.
