Fueler at IIM Sambalpur

When I started Fueler, I never imagined I would one day stand in front of students at an IIM, talking about careers and proof of work.

Last week was one of those moments for me. We hosted a portfolio-building workshop at an IIM Sambalpur, and only after the session ended did I realise how far this journey has come.

IIM Sambalpur were organising Technova 1.0, their flagship technical event, and wanted me to take a session on building strong portfolios for their students.

Coming from Agartala, starting Fueler with no money, no backing, and no clear roadmap, speaking at an IIM was never part of the plan. Back then, the plan was just to survive and keep building.

The students at IIM Sambalpur are sharp. They ask good questions. They think clearly. You can tell they care about doing well. But beneath all of that, there’s a familiar confusion. They are learning a lot, doing assignments, case studies, internships, and projects, yet they are unsure how to show all of this to the outside world.

At some point, everyone hits the same wall. You know you have skills, but your resume doesn’t really capture them. It compresses months of effort into a few lines and then expects someone else to believe you.

That gap between effort and visibility is exactly why we started Fueler. During the session, I did not try to motivate anyone. I don’t think students need more motivation. They already have enough pressure. What they need is clarity.

We spoke about how hiring has changed and why resumes are slowly losing relevance for skill-based roles. Today, companies don’t just want to hear that you know something. They want to see how you think, how you approach problems, and how you execute.

What surprised many students was realising that they already have enough material to build a portfolio. Their college assignments, live case studies, presentations, internships, even the projects that did not work out, all of it counts. The problem is that once these are submitted or graded, they disappear.

We discussed how documenting your work changes everything. When you explain the problem, your approach, what worked, what did not, and what you learned, the same assignment suddenly becomes proof of skill. It stops being college work and starts becoming career capital.

I also shared stories of people who did not have strong resumes but still landed good opportunities because their portfolios made it easy for companies to trust them. When someone can see your work, half the interview is already done.

What stayed with me was the energy in the room. Students were listening carefully, not just to agree, but to connect dots. The questions were practical. You could see people rethinking how they approach college, internships, and even learning itself.

There was a moment when it felt like many of them understood something important. Careers are not built in the final year. They are built slowly, through small pieces of work that add up over time.

Standing there, I had a quiet realisation.

Fueler started in 2021 as a small idea to help people show what they can do. Especially people who don’t come from famous colleges or strong networks. There was no pitch deck version of this dream. Just a personal frustration with how broken hiring felt.

Seeing that idea reach an IIM campus did not feel like a milestone. It felt like validation that the problem is real and shared.

This was not my win alone. It belongs to every small-town founder who kept going despite doubts. It belongs to the Fueler community that trusted us early. And it belongs to students who want to be judged by their work, not just their background.

I’m grateful to Pooja G Bannoth and the entire TechnoSpark Committee at IIM Sambalpur for inviting me and trusting me with this session. Also, I have to say this, the campus is beautiful. Easily one of the best I’ve visited.

From Agartala to IIM Sambalpur, the journey continues. Quietly, steadily, one proof of work at a time. If you’re a student or professional reading this and feeling stuck with your resume, start small. Do the work. Write about it. Put it out there.

What is Fueler Portfolio?

Fueler is a career portfolio platform that helps companies find the best talent for their organization based on their proof of work. You can create your portfolio on Fueler. Thousands of freelancers around the world use Fueler to create their professional-looking portfolios and become financially independent. Discover inspiration for your portfolio

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