From financial hardship, failure in pre-board to call center job to AIR 4, NIT Trichy pass-out now is now a Bengaluru company founder

Not every success story begins with toppers’ lists and smooth milestones. Some start in small rented rooms, with exam failures, financial strain and jobs taken just to stay afloat. Bengaluru-based tech founder Sumit Mittal has shared a journey that reads like a checklist of setbacks many young aspirants fear most. Yet, step by step, he turned each low point into leverage, building a career that now inspires thousands of students across the country.

Taking to X, Mittal reflected on the phases that could have easily defined him in a different way. He failed the IIT JEE twice. He did not clear his chemistry pre-board exam. His family went through a financial crisis. At one point, he worked at a call centre. He completed his BCA from a distant college and began teaching just four students in a tiny room.

But the story did not end there.

His achievements and educational qualifications

Mittal went on to secure All India Rank 4 in NIMCET, a significant national-level entrance exam for MCA programmes. He completed his Master of Computer Applications from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, one of the country’s premier institutions. Over the years, he worked with top product-based companies and eventually built his own identity as a Data Engineering and GenAI mentor, guiding thousands of students.



According to his LinkedIn profile, his academic journey did not stop at NIT Trichy. He pursued a PG Program in Big Data Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and also studied Analytics Essentials at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. His educational path reflects continuous upskilling rather than a single defining degree.

Today, based in Bengaluru, Mittal is the founder of a company and mentors aspiring professionals in data engineering and generative AI. His social media post struck a chord because it laid out the contrast so plainly: repeated rejections on one side, steady progress on the other.


He emphasised that life naturally swings between highs and lows, and that repeated rejection does not signal the end. For students struggling with competitive exams or early-career setbacks, his journey offers a reminder that rankings, failures and financial struggles do not permanently seal one’s trajectory.