At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the startup ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur Shanu Mathew for an exclusive interview with us. He is the Founder and Chairman of Keep Castle Group. Keepcastle Group embarked their journey from “God’s own country” – Kerala in Cochin. Because of their commitment towards their customers now they are a premier partner of many well-known builders from India and Abroad.
Just as an old saying goes “There are no secrets to success. Success is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures”.
Mr Shanu Mathew, Chairman & Managing Director of Keepcastle Group, had to go through a lot of roller coaster rides during the initial stage of the company beginning from the financial needs till the development of clientele globally. He had worked beyond hours for the wellbeing of the company.
The company primarily focused on giving the clients a very comfortable living atmosphere at a very affordable price. Their staff made sure that all the clients are satisfied and happy about their dream home.
But as the company grew they began to extend their services from construction till the interior designing projects. They helped a lot of clients renovate and redesign their homes and they had always kept in mind to finish their work at the stipulated time frame. Especially during the Kerala floods in 2018, where many were homeless and few had survived the flood with damages in their homes. The Keepcastle team took over their burden of being homeless by enlighting their future with renovated homes that were beyond their expectation.
Hence they gained the trust from their customers which helped the company to grow progressively.
The Group has a lot of domestic and international clients as well. The group helps these clients to trade their properties by clearing all the necessary documents without any hassle.
Last but not least we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our valued customers for supporting our company and helping us to achieve the Indian Achievers Award 2021.
Let’s learn more about Shanu’s exciting journey, his background and his advice for our growing community.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shanu:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I did my schooling from M G M H Puthencruz and further pursued IT Graduation from the prestigious Manipal Higher Education in Bangalore. I was a passionate individual from the beginning and always aspired to be one of the youngest achievers by delivering high performance in all walks of life.
To add to my skills and knowledge, I also completed a course in Entrepreneurship Management, which is now very necessary for every entrepreneur. I represented different non-profit organization which helps to improve my knowledge and personality. During my career, I took part in major PMC projects.”
I have always been very passionate about building something on my own that can solve my customer’s problems. We all know the real estate sector is one of the most globally recognized sectors. I did a lot of research before entering into the real estate sector and came out with a successful idea which helps to my future career and makes a smart income for my family.
So as soon as resigned from my last job, I successfully established my first company under the name of KEEP CASTLE which is into the Real estate consultancy services later we entered into construction and interior designing works under the name of Keep Castle Private Limited.”
With the success of my first firm, I started the second named Ashinsoft Technologies (of which IT Infrastructure related company), in a span of 3 months period which is into construction.”
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because I always wanted to make an impact. I have always been intrigued by entrepreneurship and read the success stories of all the successful entrepreneurs.
You see – It’s fascinating how you build something from the scratch to build an empire around it and not everyone can do it. It takes a lot of courage, planning, perseverance, hard work, teamwork, combined with good strategy & execution skills. Thanks to my mentor G Paulmurugan (GM of Engineers India Limited) who gave me valuable inputs to make the journey a lot easier for me.
During college, I chose Information Technology and then experienced in different Mega construction projects intentionally because I was very passionate about the latest tech updates and my job. I always wanted to make such a service which is economic friendly and could be helpful in the field of IT & Infrastructure and help the clients with easy, economical and speedy construction.
Hence came out with the concept of affordable homes through Keep Castle and a later second firm named Ashinsoft technologies, which help people in using new technology to build Smart Homes & Tech friendly IT infrastructure products such as CCTV, Networks, Cloud storage etc.”
‘Keep Castle Group’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving with the help of your startup?
I entered in the real estate service sector with facing lots of emotional and financial problems, the company name “Keep Castle represents for strong and long-lasting for a century” which is incorporated on August 17, 2017, with the support from my wife. My first plan was Ashinsoft Technologies but unfortunately, that plan has dropped out. So consultancy was my second choice, I was experienced and gained technical knowledge from my last organization with the help of my colleague and mentors.
We are providing Quality Homes to potential buyers and exceed their expectations. Keep Castle Group is Kerala’s most trusted and reputed Real Estate Company based out in Kochi & Sharjah. We are providing Complete Turn-Key Execution of Projects, Real Estate Consultancy, Renovation Services, Design & Decor to Architectural Support & Services. We were registered as Keep Castle Pvt. Ltd. in the year of 2017.”
We maintain the company’s reputation as a worthy and aggressive business partner who works with innovation and practice out of the box thinking in real estate sales and marketing.
We introduced new four brands which will helps to our individual clients and corporate clients to solve their problems. Our branding price table is comparatively lower than other companies. Later we introduced a Franchise opportunity for youngsters and retired employees; this will reduce unemployed problems and giving better living standards among the common people of India.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Our business during COVID, each measure is taken to ensure that the model aligns with the challenges of the pandemic.
~ Our business model consists of a lean team which is not at all resource-heavy and has minimal overheads.
~ Every aspect of the business is online and tech-enabled to ensure automation as much as possible.
~ Introduced and promoted virtual tours and co-buyer opportunities and foreign property investment through holding private company shares.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I always try to make sure that I empower the right people for the right work. This way I do not feel overburdened with work that leads to stress.”
In my free time, I try to create new networks, spend time with my family, and try to maintain my work-life balance as much as possible. Networking with other business owners helps me clear my mind and focus on issues that need my attention.
I would say that I get motivated seeing my mentors work tirelessly in their respective fields and that drives me to go on despite all the challenges.
In your opinion, what is more necessary: An idea or a good team for a successful startup?
In my opinion, it should be a mix of both. You just cannot go ahead with an idea jotted down on a piece of paper without like-minded people working on it.
I have seen companies with very innovative ideas with niche market segment fail just because they lacked proper team spirit in them.”
To be successful, you should team up with co-founders who share your vision behind the idea and you also need to hire the right people for the right position so that it gets implemented in a proper way.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I love my work. Anything you do in life you have to have a passion for and should not feel like work.
I enjoy the challenge of developing Keep Castle Group to become a globally recognized company within no time.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
“Learn from every failure; motivate others, always different from other individuals”.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
