The Pandemic situation was put to good use by this Banker in order to launch his venture

Alvin Augustine – Founder, ALSTED Pvt Ltd.

In November 2020, when the entire nation was reeling under pandemic situation, Alvin Augustine was busy delivering essentials to his patrons from Chennai and Kanyakumari. With a capital investment of 50 lakh, he started his venture “Mum Stores” – a flagship venture of his company, ALSTED Pvt Ltd. And within a very short span this online store front grew in leaps and bounds, employing almost 5000 people and branched out in Kanyakumari district. It’s not that Alvin has been a seasoned eCommerce expert, but his urge to be an entrepreneur got him into this. Throughout his career of 20 years, he has been a banking professional and wanted to start something of his own which eventually took shape in form of “Mum Stores”.

Mum Stores is basically into online delivery services and deals with food, groceries, vegetable, fruits, meat, fish, gadgets, appliances, and other essentials. It also provides service directory to the customers (for example, if someone is looking for an AC mechanic, they can find the same on the app. Again, if someone is looking for a tutor, they will be able to find one through this app). They also provide booking of rides on two-wheeler, auto, taxi and truck. It is like one-stop solution for every requirement in a single app.

Alvin says, “With huge penetration of smartphones and internet connectivity, eCommerce is the future, as a result brighter days are ahead.” He is also ecstatic about the fact that he is now able to provide employment opportunity to the youths through his venture & that’s satisfying.

Alvin observes with pride and tells us, “My Company has successfully weathered adverse times and come out stronger because of its competent and committed leadership. This past experience has ingrained in it to use the resources wisely & prudently and adopt efficient business practices. This has helped us to build a strong supply chain base capable of delivering quality and timely service to our clients.” Taking inspiration from the Tata Group, Alvin feels that their management style is something that draws him. The Indian conglomerate not only manages several business efficiently, but their contribution to the society is also praiseworthy.

Even though he started his venture during a tough time, he always believes in divine blessings. Alvin thinks that it’s during these hard times, the best in man comes out. It also identifies those persons who want to be a part of your journey, else during good times there will always be people around you, but a very few would stick to you during the dark days of entrepreneurship. However, a good team with reliable individuals can make the difference, and that has been the case with Mum Stores. Alvin attributes his success to his customer centricity. He keenly observes the change in consumer dynamism and accordingly alters his strategies. He has rightly gauged the change in purchase pattern of consumers & their shift from traditional format to online, and accordingly the business model has been aligned.

Alvin has always been a team player. He believes that a single individual never builds a company, instead he builds a team which eventually goes on to build a business. To the young entrepreneur he has some practical piece of advice,

“Believe in God and in yourself. Never give up easily. Have a strong business actionable plan in place. And your team must understand what those actionable plans are.”

With just one year into its operations, Alvin’s venture had made the right noise and bagged loads of kudos from various segments of the industry. A couple of awards and recognition is undoubtedly the proof of this achievement. He has been awarded “Promising Startup” by Indian Achievers Forum, followed by “Innovative e-Commerce Startup of the year 2021” by Nationwide Awards, and being identified as “The Best Emerging Omnichannel e-Commerce Platform” by Nationwide Awards. This is just the start and we hope Alvin and his venture to score few more accolades in the years to come.

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