To ‘Dubai-it’ is to dream bigger: Residents share their stories of ambition and growth
Two women entrepreneurs reveal how the phrase reflects their own journeys of resilience, determination and transformation.
Dubai: For many residents, Dubai-it means working for something you believe in, no matter the odds.
The launch of the Dubai-it initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has everyone asking themselves what the phrase means to them personally, and how they’re embodying it in their lives.
Defining it as a verb, Sheikh Mohammed posted the definition of ‘Dubai-it’ on social media: “To achieve something extraordinary with excellence in record time. It’s about turning big ideas into reality, just like Dubai’s incredible transformation from desert to global city in a short span.”
Here’s how two women are ensuring they Dubai-it every day in their careers.
A career that mirrors a city
For Martina Kikic, a Croatian national who works as an advisor to C-suite leaders on LinkedIn authority, the phrase Dubai-it has finally validated what she’s been working toward, for years.
She said: “Honestly, it explained something about my own work that I never knew how to say out loud. I sit across from people who run rooms, who get flown in for decisions… and then I open their digital world and it feels like ghosts, losing growth and opportunities they never see coming.”
Kikic explained the parallels she draws between her work and the city she calls home: “His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum didn’t wait. He built Dubai, and it became an undeniable world hub.”
Visionaries like Dubai’s leaders – past and present – put the city on the map. It’s a lesson that resonates deeply with Kikic, who tries to do the same in her career: helping businesses transform into an undeniable presence online.
She said: “You can Dubai-it your life and career even if your path was never smooth. There is always a way to change its course. Take what life gives you and transform it into excellence. Finally, I have a word for it. Just Dubai-it.”
The phrase also captures the reason why she moved to the city in the first place. She said: “I moved here nine years ago. That phrase is the reason I stayed… I have watched this city turn doubt into proof more times than I can count. Reading that word [Dubai-it] felt like watching my own adopted home get named for exactly what it has always done.”
She sees her own career growth mirroring Dubai’s spirit and ambition. “I built this [career] the same way the city was built: in motion, in public, with no guarantee it would work before it did. Now, I cannot stop saying the word [Dubai-it]. I say it on calls with clients across the world, because the credit for it belongs right here.”
Audacity and hope
Another resident who built a career in a city of possibilities, is Marion Gueneau, a 47-year-old French entrepreneur, who runs her own communications consulting business, Morph and More.
When she first heard about Dubai-it, she said she enjoyed the wordplay: “Two words that compress 50 years into something anyone can carry. [It’s so] well done! What struck me ... was the message underneath: speed is visible, but the decades of quiet work are what made it possible.”
Gueneau arrived in Dubai in 2014, “with no roadmap, no safety net, just the feeling that this was the place to do things differently”.
She said she built her business one client at a time, evolving and developing marketing strategy, content, and more recently, artificial intelligence (AI). She’s also launching a marketing masterclass soon, where she’s “helping business owners make sense of marketing without having to become full-time marketers”.
All of her work is based in the same spirit of ambition and industry that’s intrinsic to Dubai. Gueneau said: “To me, Dubai-it means betting on something before the world validates it, then doing the quiet work until it does.”
She feels proud of being a Dubai resident, and “also a little challenged”. She explained why: “‘Dubai-it’ sets a high bar. It’s more than a celebration, it’s an invitation to examine whether you’re living up to it. After 12 years here, I still ask myself: am I building something real, something that will last? That energy people feel the moment they step into Dubai... it doesn't let you settle for anything less than the best.”