Mr. Vinayan T.P. Acclimating higher elevations
A weathered builder for all seasons – surmounting and conquering!
Having a longing desire to achieve something is the first step. Taking actions is the next. There are people to whom life has posed herculean hurdles, those who however has overcome the challenges with sheer grit and determination. One such inspiring life is of Mr. Vinayan T.P., the Chairman of Kent Constructions Pvt. Ltd, a successful Indian Builder, Designer and Businessman. The company has survived the ups and downs of the volatile real estate channels and grown to tremendous heights under his strong determined leadership.
Seeding of the Giant
Hailing from the small town of Alwaye, one of five children in his family, Mr. Vinayan T.P. was born in a family which was into business already. His role models were his father and mother and they always encouraged him to risk in business. Thus, it came very natural to him those inevitable business traits and the keen interest do business in life. However, those times, almost every aspiring men in life chose to go to Gulf. He also didn’t resist following the herd, journeyed to Damam, Saudi Arabia via Mumbai and joined a company there. There, he was instrumental in assisting with building the bridge connecting Bahrain and Saudi. The company that he was hired into was called LailaKent, where Kent was the European company in collaboration with (and, no brownie-points on where his current company name Kent is inspired from).
Mr. Vinayan T.P. gratefully reminisces the past where he mentions that was his first stepping stone to success.
He had the opportunity to mingle and work along with people from different nationalities and derive more knowledge by getting trained by the company.
However, from the time he remembers himself, he had been helping his father in his trade and never could take that dream of doing business in his own country. He decided to work hard at Saudi and earn enough money to start a new company here in Kerala. He was offered thrice the salary when he put his papers there. When he thought he had accumulated enough investment, he returned to Kerala and started real-estate business down here.
Rest is history.
The real-estate rollercoaster went up and down, and at times, in the verge of collapsing. His strong will and passion for his company held him above the testing waters and saved him from sinking.
Today, Mr. Vinayan T.P. is a skilled sailor who knows to sail through the whirlpool and tides and know exactly where he is going and how to reach the shore safely. The reason and the pillar of support behind his success is his partner Mr. K.C. Raju, who had been with him through thick and thin for an entire decade now. His role model, whom he looked up to, is his uncle, Mr. V.S. Radhakrishnan, from whom he learned the cues of entrepreneurship.
His mentor, Mr. Thampi, who helped him cross the hurdles in life with ease, is always the first person to be prayed for. Mr. Vinayan gratefully thank these very eminent people in life, who helped him reach where he is today.
The Passion and Journey of Kent
The passion Mr. Vinayan T.P. shows for this industry, real estate and construction is unmatched. He says that this is an arena where you can make quick money. Any other investments might take you years to appreciate and give you returns. However, land value has always steadily accelerated. Everyone has a purpose in their life and a calling to a particular industry (Mr. Vinayan had at the right time realized that he should grow this passion he has for this industry and make a fortune out of it). He says that luck is always related to identifying that trade you are born to do. Wait for the opportunity and grab it before it disappears.
He bought a land at Thammanam and started construction of a villa complex naming it Kent Paradise in 1994. His venture was initially known as Kent Homes and Properties. His interest in this trade ensured the realization of beautiful and quality conscious villas to be made. In between, recession happened and the business opportunities went down. He diversified to manufacturing empty bottles. Later, when the land value started coming up again, he returned to Kent with might. The very first traditional villa project that Kent did was sold fully off successfully. And, then, one project after another, the journey went smoothly, from high-rise buildings to townships. The market saw a splurge of weak builders creeping in and losing trust among clients, which in turn affected all other builders as well. Kent stood strong all these years, focusing on the faultless quality they provide to their clients, and the after sales service what makes Kent distinct from the rest.
Kent always follows ethics in their work realm. Mr. Vinayan believes that you should never be running behind money, but you should put in your best in working your way towards excellence. The results might take time, but, however, when it comes it stays forever. All the partners on Kent work in synchrony with the workers, so that they model the right behavior to them. The company authorities make sure that they under promise and over deliver.
Landscaping is one eminently impressive element noted in the properties of the company. The developer uses the tactic of not revealing all amenities, but surprise the client by giving them more than what they were initially delighted with while booking. Kent has never advertised prominently; their real marketing is word of mouth. The clients themselves keep buying more and advocate the facility to their known ones.
Some unique accomplishments
Mr. Vinayan T.P. makes sure that he puts his heart into each design of Kent. He travels around the world and learns from different structures and designs. His Ideas are adapted skillfully to the ecosystem of the state. A very superior example is the breathtaking design of Kent Palm Villas. Scores of palms were imported for making it more authentically spectacular. It is one of a kind in South India. Very few in the city knows that the renewal of Subash Bose Park was designed by Vinayan. The elevation of town hall also was redesigned. He was awarded by the chief minister of Kerala. These services are done without taking any compensation, as a contribution to the society.
Mr. Vinayan T.P. is known to be extremely involved and passionate. He spends all his time for the company he is accountable to. He reminisces that he never expected himself to be this much successful, and would be able to employ these many employees and help lives thus. He endorses permanent transformation through continuous change, through altering the habits punctiliously. He believes in being a model; his friends are his employees, and he do not indulge in any other leisure activities much other than business undertakings. His ways of addressing a problem is very unique and inspiring. In fact, he loves to confront a problem, and makes sure he builds a firewall around it, block it so that there is a prospective functional process that sustains Kent. You cannot completely rely on people, but the System. Hence, the process is primarily focused here. The one who chases and one who is chased is exhausted almost equally, he says. Managers and sub-ordinates should be co-operating amicable to get the targets achieved.
Advice to the upcoming entrepreneurs
Mr. Vinayan T.P. painfully recognizes that today Malayalees are not that skilled like how they used to be in the olden days. Most of them are neither accountable, nor healthy to do the work he is supposed to finish. Hence, the hires are trained extensively for better performance. Kent’s Quality Check Team and employees are result-oriented and quality conscious. Every department has their own distinct pledges to start the day with. There is a flawless system, which ensures the productivity of the team members, in the company. The system makes sure that the task assigned to each one is completed in the stipulated turn-around-time. He feels proud of his remarkable staff. In house software is customized taking inspiration from success stories from around the world.
He advices the budding entrepreneurs to give it try first in an unprofessional or start-up company also, before you start one of your own, so that you get to learn what happens in every department. You may learn how to organize after getting a hang of the unorganized environment. Everyone should strengthen themselves up by going through failures. You should then stabilize in one or two major trade post forty, and bring down risk-taking. Rolling stone gathers no moss, thus we also should be progressing, taking learning from the previous entrepreneurial years.
The current challenges
Excuses and passing the buck has become common nowadays. Families should be taking more care of the children’s health and get them more pro-active and agile. He also advices that the parents should keep a track on skilling up their children to learn more on daily routine and self-handling accomplishments. He also suggests the generation should pick up seasonal food and fruits, so that one can keep themselves healthy, and can maintain to work capably. Kent does an extensive campaign in spreading awareness on how to get children healthy and resourceful.
Social commitment and Philanthropy
Even while creating successful business ventures and enjoys the fruitful benefits out of it, Mr. Vinayan T.P. never forgets his societal role, as he always gives equal importance to his social contributions and responsibilities for all good deeds he does in its best possible manner. He operates a charitable trust through which several needy hands are filled with financial aids especially for medical treatment, meeting daily livelihood etc. More surprisingly, in addition to the above social service, Mr. Vinayan proves to be a completely Health oriented person as he is interested in health research topics and renders ample time for developing highly beneficial heath techniques or tips or systems and conducts several health awareness programs as well, across Kerala.
Excellence that results in Awards
His awards and recognistions are just an extension to the excellence his work reflects and the passion he has for his trade. Some of them include: Business Excellence Award 2011 (JCI Harvenfest); Business Excellence Award 2012 (Kerala State)(Adjudged as the No.1 Builder in Kerala); Certificate of recognition from Honourable Ex-Chief Minister of Kerala Sri. Oommen Chandy for renovation design work of Kochi Municipal Corporation Town hall; Award for best business performer from Kaalimalarkavu temple situated in Kerala; Global Business Excellence Award 2017 received from Hon. Union Defence Minister Smt. Nirmala Seetharaman and Hon. Union Minister for Science & Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi for his excellence in the business sector he ventured into; Gururatna Award (Shivagiri Math) received from Hon. Union Minister of Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi along with leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists like M.A.Yusafali, B.R.Shetty, Sudha Moorthy, Dr.P.N.C.Menon, Sunil kumar, Anilkumar, Dr.Sundarmenon and Cheruvakal Raman. Hon. Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley and Hon. Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Culture and Tourism Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam personally congratulated the business legend for the remarkable achievements he made in the sector.
Family
Mr. Vinayan T.P. married Shina Vinayan, who is a home maker. He has two children: Vishnu Vinay and Veena Vinay. Vishnu, who completed his higher studies abroad, now assists his father in expanding his business, while Veena is currently pursuing her Bachelors in Commerce in a reputed college in Cochin.
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