How LinkedIn Opened New Doors in Dubai | From Car Wash to Marketing Agency

From running car washes to building a marketing agency, Maria Pruna's entrepreneurial journey in Dubai took an unexpected turn. 🇦🇪 What started as sharing her car wash business on LinkedIn turned into a personal brand that opened doors to new clients, media appearances, and eventually an entirely new business. And here's something surprising: Maria's LinkedIn comments generated up to 30,000 impressions, while her posts typically received 2,000–3,000. In this episode of the Dubai Builder Podcast, host Franzi Chopra sits down with Maria Pruna to explore how she built multiple businesses in Dubai, turned LinkedIn visibility into business opportunities, and uses AI to strengthen her personal brand. 🎙️ *What we cover:* From Belgium to Dubai: building a car wash business with her husband 🇧🇪🇦🇪 How LinkedIn unexpectedly led to her marketing agency Why comments can sometimes outperform posts on LinkedIn How she uses Claude AI to develop her signature commenting style The role of Dubai's Creators HQ in connecting founders 🇦🇪 The challenge of evolving beyond the personal brand you're known for ⏱️ *Chapters:* 00:00 – 30K impressions from LinkedIn comments?! (Preview) 00:27 – Meet Maria Pruna: Building businesses in Dubai 01:01 – From Belgium to Dubai: The car wash business 01:38 – From car washes to a marketing agency 02:03 – How LinkedIn helped build her personal brand 03:35 – Finding founder communities through Creators HQ 04:38 – Why Maria started a marketing agency 06:01 – How Maria uses AI in her businesses 06:40 – Her Claude AI hack for LinkedIn comments 07:51 – Are comments more powerful than posts? 08:54 – 30K impressions: Why Maria prioritizes comments 09:10 – The challenge of outgrowing your personal brand 10:40 – Maria's advice for aspiring founders 🇦🇪 Dubai Government Program mentioned: CreatorsHQ: https://creatorshq.com 🔗 *Connect with Maria* LinkedIn:   / luiza-pruna   🔗 *Connect with Franzi* LinkedIn:   / franzi-chopra   Instagram:   / franzichopra   YouTube:    / @franzichopra   🎙️ About the Dubai Builder Podcast Conversations with people building businesses & communities in Dubai. 🇦🇪 Hosted by Franzi Chopra, the podcast explores the people, networks, government initiatives, and practical tools helping founders build and grow in Dubai. Short, insightful conversations for busy builders. Subscribe for new episodes and get inspired by the people shaping Dubai's entrepreneurial ecosystem.