Atypical Advantage Turns 2

We are two years old! This means we are still at a nascent stage but confident that we are on the right track. It started with one man’s vision to employ Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).  Little did Vineet Saraiwala, founder of Atypical Advantage, know that in the process he would provide a lifetime of opportunities to performing and visual artists with disabilities. 

If someone had told Axn Sudokpam from Manipur during the pandemic that he would be working at one of India’s top firms, he wouldn’t have believed that.  “Being a visually impaired content creator has its fair share of challenges. Just when nothing seemed hopeful, I came across the website of Atypical Advantage and applied for a job. I landed a job I actually love,” he says. 

“I started doing comedy to make people aware of the disability. For me, the best part about working with Atypical Advantage is that it helps my jokes and conversations to a larger audience and helps people learn about disabilities. I am happy to connect with people from so many backgrounds and take baby steps to change the narrative about disability,” says Sweta Mantri, a standup comic from Pune. 

Like Sweta and Axn, 1000+ PwDs have benefited so far. Highlighting the talents and skills of individuals with disabilities is what we do by providing a platform. But at the end of the day, it is all of them. Our pool of talents includes dancers, singers, engineers, content creators, comedians, motivational speakers, visual artists, caricature experts, doodling experts and many more.

This is the power of determination and hard work. It can help change narratives, provide a stable livelihood and give opportunities to deserving persons with disabilities. 

Here’s a glimpse into our journey so far. 

In terms of earnings, our talents have earned a total of over Rs 60 lakhs through selling paintings, bagging jobs at top Indian firms and providing services like photography, writing, sign language translators, graphic designing and more. 

• We have done more than 100 shows and events across India, both offline and online, Some of our happy clients include Amazon, Synchrony, Barclays, Zensar technologies, Nestle, Brookfield properties, HUL, etc. The performances were done for diverse events like town hall meets, company anniversaries, special days, employee engagement and more. 
• We have commissioned and sold 300+ artworks to big brands like goStops, Pepperfry, GIC, Galleria Mall, and Design Cafe. Pepperfry commissioned 30+ artists to paint glass facades in their 40 stores across India. They did this thrice! GIC Singapore wanted to highlight their core values in board meetings. So 2 artists with autism made artworks on dignity, diversity and integrity. 

Pulling off so many events, inclusive hiring and commissioning artworks at such a large scale requires teamwork. And our small but dedicated team has worked tirelessly to ensure stable livelihoods for hundreds of PwDs. 

And lastly, all this would not have been possible without YOU, our allies and cheerleaders. 

Thank you from the AA team.

Atypical Advantage is India’s largest livelihood platform for Persons with Disabilities(PWD). Whether it is a singer looking for a show, a visual artist looking to sell their paintings, or job seekers with disabilities looking for career opportunities, it bridges the supply & demand side inefficiencies so that Persons with Disabilities can earn a dignified income. We have a large pool of 15,000+ talents with disabilities and have worked with 250+ corporates within a short span of 3 years. We were also featured on Shark Tank Season 2 and were declared the winner of the prestigious National Startup Award under the social impact category by the Union Government. For more information, visit our website here.