Joan Proaño, building from what people need

Joan Proaño did not come to architecture through an early vocation. He wanted to study finance and entered the Faculty of Architecture at his father’s suggestion, with the idea of switching programs later. In 2003, he founded Proaño Proaño with family support and a clear idea: to develop complete real estate projects. More than two decades later, his work has shifted from design toward strategy, finance, leadership, and decision-making.

How did you go from wanting to study finance to realizing that architecture could also become a business?

I think two interests came together there: one I had from a young age and another I developed at university, which was architecture. It had never interested me before I entered the faculty. My father is an architect and he told me, “Start here and then you can switch.”

I was always an entrepreneur. In my final years at university, I already had a company that supplied and installed aluminum and glass windows. That was when I understood that architecture has a beautiful artistic side, but it also has a side that is about meeting needs, and when you meet needs there is a business dimension. So I said: I have to take this beyond design and into construction and real estate development as well.

How was Proaño Proaño founded in 2003?

I founded the company with the support of an uncle of mine, Fernando, and with my family as partners. My uncle provided the capital, and my father also gave me a great deal of input. The first thing I did was buy a lot where I could develop a real estate project.

I prepared a feasibility analysis and presented that to my uncle to establish the company. Even before it was created, it was conceived as a real estate development company. I knew how to design and build, and I said: now I’m going to complete that with advertising and sales. At the beginning, I did absolutely everything, including selling.

Today you are founder and CEO. How much of your work is still architecture?

Very little architecture, honestly. We still maintain an in-house design department, as well as construction, sales, marketing, and communications. But I am now more involved in project conception and some of the final details.

We are even starting our first project that we will not design ourselves. We will outsource it to Gómez Platero, a Uruguayan company, because the design department could no longer keep pace with the growth of the rest of the company.

When a new project begins, what comes first?

The first thing we think about is the need we can meet. What are people missing, and how can we solve it? From that need, we conceive a product, a price, and a buyer persona.

Then we determine which areas could support the project and what conditions the lot would need to meet. Only then does the search begin. We developed a plan through 2030 and have defined different types of projects. When a property becomes available, we analyze which one it might fit.

These processes are long: six months to find the property, another six for planning and permits, between six months and a year of presales, and then between a year and a half and three years of construction. Many people think a project begins when construction starts, but the planning began much earlier.

How do you manage the tension between design and the sale price?

We have to make internal compromises about what we can modify while still keeping the customer satisfied. Comfort and quality are never compromised; we generally optimize the space.

That forces us to think about new ways of living. With ZOE, for example, we created small studio apartments and complemented them with spacious common areas where people could work, meet, or socialize. The apartment serves a more private function, while other activities move into shared spaces.

“We exist to build people’s dreams and assets.”

What does building assets mean to you?

Assets are something you build over time and that belong to you. You can later sell them, give them away, or pass them on as an inheritance. In our case, they are real estate properties that gradually become part of those assets.

Assets give you stability. They may not give you happiness, but they can contribute to it because they give you peace of mind. And when a person has peace of mind, they can be more productive and their abilities can go much further.

The company puts keeping its commitments at the center of its value proposition. Why?

One of our company’s intangible assets is its reputation. You build it by honoring your commitments over the years, and a single failure to do so can destroy it. That reputation creates trust, and that trust allows us to do business in good faith for both sides.

We went through the pandemic and our deliveries were not delayed. Construction resumed under protocols that were extremely costly for us, but we preferred to sacrifice our profit to preserve our reputation.

“We preferred to sacrifice our profit to preserve our reputation.”

What lesson has changed the way you make decisions?

In our business, you cannot afford to make mistakes easily. If you make the wrong choice of property, your capital is tied up there; if you get the product wrong and build it, you do not have many options left.

We have learned a great deal from the market. Sometimes we believed a product would work, but once we put it on sale, people asked for something different. We had to reconfigure projects, and that is expensive.

That is why we now conduct many more market studies. But a study does not always give you the exact recipe for success. You have to combine that information with previous experience and business instinct.

What role does digital presence play today, and why did you choose .ec domains?

I love my country. I am the number one fan of my national team, and anything with .ec or +593 is on my radar. I think it gives us identity and, in addition, there is greater availability of names we can choose from. We think it is a very good option and easy for any Ecuadorian to remember.

We rely heavily on digital strategy for sales. Between 40% and 60% of our sales come from a digital strategy: social media, Google, search engines, websites, and everything else.

If we spoke again in ten years, what would Proaño Proaño need to have built beyond square meters?

In ten years, we need to have built communities and a legacy. Those are our two main objectives right now.