It’s a difficult path when one cannot walk. But despite his orthopedic problem, 29-year-old Akshay Atchut Fadte has walked this difficult path with the immense support of his near and dear ones. And today, as he looks back, he sees a father who quit his job to take care of him; he sees friends who always stood beside him, come what may. And his two mentors – Ketki Parab Gadekar and Radhika Kamat - who have never let him feel that he is lesser than anyone else.
“I am thankful to my father, in whose name I have started my own venture, Atchut Marketing,” shares Akshay, who is also obliged to the local MLA and Chief Minister of Goa, Dr Pramod Sawant, for lending his personal car to pick and drop him whenever he needed to attend meetings or assignments.
Living and working from Sanquelim, Akshay is running his business from his home with a small team but is hoping to shift to an office premises and expand his team too in the near future. “I enrolled in a computer course that later came to my aid in running my own advertising and marketing business,” briefs Akshay, who cannot walk without support because of his tilted legs.
But as we know, where there is a will, there is a way, and Akshay soon found his own way. He recalls that from class 1 to 4, he went to a government primary school on his own with the help of a stick, as his school was in Virdi village.
He did his schooling from class 5-10 at Progress High School and 11-12 at the government higher secondary school at Sanquelim. “It was difficult to travel to town on a daily basis without support, so my father quit his job in Panaji and took up a job in a mining company, on one condition: that he would only work in the second half of the day (from 2 pm to 12 am) on a permanent basis, as he wanted to utilize his mornings to drop me off and pick me up from school,” remembers Akshay.
“Many times my school bus used to arrive late, and he had to wait until I came. His company bus would wait, and whenever I was late, he used to drop me home from the bus stop and rush to work, without even having food. My father has made many sacrifices for me, and it is because of him that I could continue my schooling,” says Akshay, who took up a job as a telecaller in a private company after completing his XII.
Later, Akshay ventured into social media marketing. “It was a difficult phase in my life. Any business needs capital investment, which we lacked. So I could not think of starting my own business. A friend, Steffi Cardoz, suggested that I do online graphic designing. I contacted clients and posted their content on social media,” quips Akshay.
He humbly recalls that his mentor, Ketaki Parab Gadekar, boosted his spirit by giving him the confidence that he too can do something.
“Soon people began recognizing me, and my advertising business began to grow. I hired a graphic designer and a website developer, and with this, my clientele grew in numbers. I even purchased a car to meet my clients and joined a business networking platform, JCI,” smiles Akshay, who is active in DRAG, which supports the differently-abled in Goa.
Best at communications, Akshay is blessed with a friend, Navraj Aukhale, who is just a call away. Cousin Siddhant Mainkar is always willing to drive him to his clients within the State. Akshay’s second mentor, Radhika Kamat, an anchor at Prudent Media, is also a strong support. With such helpful people around him, Akshay could expand his business network.
“I offered a unique platform. I had no capital, so I created my own page – Atchut Marketing for people to post random advertisements. I created a platform with multiple advertisements through one profile. Others started copying my idea – my concept was successful. Today I have many clients who believe in me and my capabilities. I too never let them down. With a small team of three, we do websites, logos, and designing work. I plan to expand my team, hire more hands, and shift to an office of my own,” discloses Akshay.
“Never underestimate someone because they are differently-abled,” appeals Akshay, who has been successfully running his business for the past five years. Education, opportunities, supportive people around him, and exposure to the world have elevated him to where he is today. Festival time keeps him busy. Today, a proud son to his parents, Akshay’s motto is ‘Never give up. Keep trying. Do your best. God will support you’ if you are honest and sincere in your work.
