Prateek

Agarwal interacting with his employees.

JAIPUR: Like some fast-footed dance form, his nimble fingers moved fluidly over the key board and within five minutes a query from a client was replied to. Like the computer, his mobile phone is also in talk mode that helps him make/receive calls, read and reply text messages from clients and consultants all over the world and also keep him in touch with over 40 employees at his IT company he founded in 2010.But it's not been easy for Jaipur-based Prateek Agarwal, perhaps the first blind IT entrepreneur in the country, to engage with a visual world with sound. For him, entrepreneurship was not by choice, rather he had no other choice despite ranking among top three throughout his education till he graduated in computer science from NIIT University in Neemrana ."Every time I sat for campus recruitment, I was among the top performers. I would score good in aptitude test, reasoning, group discussions and was actively participating in the activities. But when it came to the final round, the HR team of those companies would say I was an inspiration and they were extremely moved by my talent. But at the end, they would say they cannot hire a blind student," said Prateek reminiscing the events that shook his rock-solid confidence and conviction for a while which brought him to this point in his life.“This happened so many times, over and again and then I started to feel devastated. I used to cry and ask myself what more can I do to get a job and what is more there in my hand to do,” Prateek added.He could have taken to music or tried his luck in singing like some of his class mates would suggest him mockingly because people with blindness are thought to be best suited to pursuing those careers. The visual world was so powerful and the ways of the world was so geared to it that operating it through sounds seemed to show up limitations. But Prateek is not used to giving up and decided otherwise by registering his company Daedal Technovations while in the final year of his engineering.“Initially, I had no clients. I used to go shop to shop in the hot summer approaching local businesses asking them if they have any software requirements. At that time the businesses were getting digital in areas like invoicing, stock and HR management. Sometimes, I would call up people and have three or four rounds of discussions about their requirements. But finally when I would meet them, they would feel flummoxed. Are you the same guy who was talking over phone? They would ask me. Eventually, they would say they cannot give the project to a blind man,” explained Prateek of his struggles early on as an entrepreneur.However, he managed to get some contracts but those were not financially rewarding even though they gave Prateek the experience he needed. Soon he realised that growth would be very slow if he depends the local market and started exploring opportunities online.“Right now over 95% of my clients are online spread over many countries in the world like the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia etc. Our range of services expanded over the years covering software application with expertise in B2B segment, digital marketing, social media, search engine marketing, project and security consultancy. We also provide online training for some complex technologies. Currently, we are working on technologies such as block chain, artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics and cryptocurrency,” added Prateek.Prateek’s story of self-belief, courage and never-give-up attitude since his school days triumphed over a society and system that still remains blind to the growth of a visually-challenged person. Having aspirations is also a sort of a taboo as Prateek experienced in his growing up days.“When I reached school going age, my parents applied in several schools but none accepted me. Fortunately, St Michael’s School in Jaipur came forward. The principal was empathetic and took personal interest to develop certain systems and facilities for my education. Just to help me in my homework, my mother, a homemaker, also learnt Braille script. Normally, presents would either overprotect a blind child or just completely ignore him or her. But I was brought up the same way like my brother. I played with my siblings and cousins,” said Prateek.When Prateek was in Class VII, he developed a fascination for computers and learnt a few things on his own using screen reading software JAWS. But that was not enough as he wanted to become a software engineer. “I went to several institutes and everybody ridiculed and rejected me saying how a blind guy would work on computers,” he recalled explaining the social attitude towards the blind and the lack of understanding in teaching such disadvantaged people.The retina detachment may have robbed a vital aspect of his life, but Prateek has transformed that adversity into an opportunity. Today, he wears many hats besides being the entrepreneur. He provides personality and life skills training to corporates and individuals. He also has also taken up social causes and teaches computers to visually-challenged people.