An architect by training and a surfer in her spare time, Mariana Pedroso dared to surf higher waves and bought the company where she worked for the last ten years. At 43 years old, she is the current CEO and Owner of Architect Your Home (AYH), previously based in the United Kingdom, and manages a team of more than 30 people, with new headquarters in Oeiras Valley.
What led you to make the decision to buy, in 2023, the company where you worked for ten years?
Mariana Pedroso – I decided to go ahead with the purchase of the mother house following my desire to grow the company. We have had steady progress and growth here in Portugal over the last almost 12 years and, when this opportunity arose, I thought it would be a great time to be able to make a turnaround and start taking charge of the company, bringing the headquarters to Portugal.
My goal was for the headquarters to stop being in the United Kingdom and to be in Portugal – transforming the UK team into our branch – and, from there, starting to create other countries where we could also have Architect Your Home ( AYH). I understand that it is a brand that has the potential to be expanded and internationalized. Basically, it was about seizing the opportunity.
As in other sectors, top and leadership positions are still largely occupied by men in this area. Do you feel there are added difficulties because you are a woman?
MP – My area is a man’s world. It has been very common, throughout my career, to have meetings with decision makers and always be masculine. So, over the years, I also got used to it. It’s very rare to be sitting at a table with decision makers in the feminine. There is clearly a way to go in this direction.
At the same time, I think this also makes us [mulheres] We end up being more determined and it makes us want to go further. And it’s something that’s the same here as it is in the United Kingdom. It’s not a Portuguese thing, it’s a universal thing. It’s not a women’s world in business, it’s a man’s world. Little by little we are all here conquering our place and I think that, when it is my daughters’ turn, there will be more equality between women and men in decision-making positions.
Her daughters also end up having her example as a woman and leader of a company…
MP – Yes. I spend my life telling you that each of us follows our own path and that just because we are women doesn’t mean we’re going to stop doing what we want, in whatever area.
Obviously, for this to be possible there must be an equitable distribution of tasks within the family. I also had two daughters and there is a moment that is very characteristic of women, which is the part of motherhood and childhood care, in which there is an emotional bond with the mother, even in relation to breastfeeding. All women who have children should enjoy this moment and should not stop doing so for the sake of a career. I think it’s possible to do both and I can prove my case. It was possible to build and grow a company, even though I was pregnant and then had children.
What was the biggest challenge you have faced so far as a company leader and how did you overcome it?
MP – I think it was the launch of the company itself. Starting from scratch, basically with zero customers. It was at a time when I became pregnant. Therefore, it was also a very challenging time on a personal level.
There were two other very difficult moments in terms of the company’s growth and management, which were Covid and post-Covid because there was an abrupt drop and, suddenly, it was necessary to rethink everything.
Then we had a moment of transition to the B2B market, the market for developers, construction companies, while we had always been very focused on the B2C market, the end consumer. When we started to grow and have bigger projects, we entered a market that was already clearly occupied by other people and we had to adapt to start occupying our space and gaining our clients.
This is still a challenge nowadays because it is a highly competitive market where we are not in a niche like we were before. We are competing in open waters like all other teams of the same nature, which forced us to take a series of steps, some of them intuitive and others very strategic.
One of these steps was the rebranding of the company, which we are now doing, to position the company in aesthetic and strategic terms in this market. The other was clearly the purchase of the parent company in the United Kingdom because, from that moment on, the degree of responsibility increased exponentially.
One of his passions, along with architecture, is surfing. Does practicing surfing also help you to have greater perseverance in relation to obstacles?
MP – It helps a lot. Surfing is a great analogy for business management. Those who surf, before arriving at the beach, watch the cameras to understand what the sea is like, what the wind is like, if there will be waves, what the tide is like and choose a beach to go to. I do this all the time in business: market analysis.
Then we arrived at the beach and the conditions sometimes had nothing to do with what was in the forecast. We have to analyze on the beach which area of the sea we are going to enter, whether there are seawaters or not, and adapt management to the current situation.
When you are in the water you have to be present in the moment. We can’t be thinking about anything else. If a person is distracted, they get caught up or don’t catch the wave. This is also something that happens in business. There are times when you cannot be thinking backwards and forwards, you have to act in that moment.
Does the current housing crisis and decreased purchasing power affect projects here in Portugal?
MP – Yes and no. It is still very necessary to have projects, so it does not affect the upstream. I think there is a certain slowdown, in the sense that the increase in the square meter price of land and buildings has led to all projects in large urban centers being sold at very high prices. Not because the promoter is looking for an absurd profit, but because there is no other option.
There is a lot of work that comes from the public and regulatory side so that prices can level out again because construction is extremely expensive.
We deal a lot with small developers and investors who try to do affordable things and who, when they see the construction budgets, don’t add up.
Looking to the future, what are the main goals you have for AYH in the coming years?
MP – At a national level, our objective is to consolidate ourselves in the B2B market and continue on the same growth path. We currently have around 600 customers, a turnover of 8 million euros and growth of 15% per year. The objective is to maintain this stable growth.
In international terms, our objective is to consolidate the market and create new Architect Your Home (AYH) in other European countries. We started with the United Kingdom and, in the next two to three years, the goal is to be able to go to two or three more countries that are close and relatable to us. We had considered Spain, France and Italy as the next expansion countries.
– What advice would you give to other women who also aspire to reach senior positions or have their own business?
MP – They have to be very resilient. For every ten “no’s”, there is one “yes”. There are times when a person is feeling down and things aren’t going so well, but you can’t stop. It’s a 24-hour job. Anyone who has their own company knows that they never stop working on their head.
Nothing can be done alone, you need to have a good team working with us, at all levels. In our case, I need to have very good architects working with me and decorators who understand the vision I have for the company and who have a good communication and team spirit.
There is a very common characteristic of women which is to always try to be “superwoman”. They think they can do everything and, in my opinion, it is not a good technique. It always ends up coming to a point where it explodes. It is preferable to keep doing things, taking into account that some things will not be 100% perfect. And then think about what our priorities are because it is impossible to do everything.
Life is also responsible for teaching us these things. The most important thing is to have the determination and desire to do things because that takes us a long way.
