Zeina Khoury may be known to millions as the sharp-witted star of Netflix’s Dubai Bling, but her true legacy is being built far from the cameras – in the boardrooms and broker networks of Dubai’s thriving real estate sector.
In an exclusive interview on AB Majlis, Arabian Business’ flagship podcast, Khoury, Founder of Zed Capital and fashion label I Am the Company, spoke candidly about fame, her entrepreneurial journey, and why the phrase “I am the company” went from being a meme to a movement.
From Beirut to the Boomtown
Khoury arrived in Dubai in 2006, fleeing Lebanon’s political uncertainty for opportunity in a city that was, at the time, still defining itself. “We didn’t even know what real estate meant,” she said. In Lebanon, property transactions were informal, word-of-mouth affairs. But in post-freehold Dubai, it was booming business. She joined the gold rush. “Some of my brother’s friends were making serious money in real estate. They said, ‘Why don’t you tell your sister to join?’ So I did.”
Nearly two decades later, Khoury has mastered every phase of the property cycle – from launches and handovers to disputes, marketing, and asset management. This experience became the backbone of Zed Capital, the firm she founded after her husband surprised her with a real estate license as a gift.
“I felt like a big fish in a small pond,” she said. “So I decided to be the pond.”
Building Zed Capital
Khoury’s business model is full-stack: Zed Capital guides developers from land acquisition through to post-handover rental and resale. “You buy a plot, and we help you brand, market, launch, sell, manage and flip. It’s not brokerage. It’s full-cycle development.”
Just three months after launching, the firm secured an exclusive project launch. “We weren’t even done setting up the office,” she recalled. “But we said yes, recruited, and pulled off a major success. Now, we’re on our fifth project.”
Her early declaration on Dubai Bling – “I am the company” – wasn’t posturing, she said. “In real estate, it’s the people that make the company. Your relationships, your bank of knowledge, your mistakes – these are the assets,” she said.
Turning fame into strategy
Khoury’s entry into reality TV only amplified her business capability. “Because I entered the show as a businesswoman, that’s how I was perceived. It fast-forwarded the verification process. People assume Netflix did their due diligence.”
Still, the visibility came with tension. Two major on-screen confrontations with co-star Ebraheem Al Samadi tested her composure and resolve. The first, in Season 1, saw Ebraheem storm into her office, triggering a heated clash that quickly went viral. The second, in Season 3, was more calculated. Ebraheem acquired the UK trademark for I Am the Company, exploiting a technical gap in her global IP filings.
“He did it out of spite,” she said. “But our sales exploded. We were producing thousands of T-shirts. The community rallied around me.”
Khoury chose not to escalate legally. “I didn’t want to make it ugly. It was good TV and even better marketing.”
Fashion as identity
The brand I Am the Company was born almost by accident. After a clip of Khoury defending herself in the office went viral, fans began asking for merchandise. “Women told me they wore our jackets when speaking on stage, or during job interviews. They saw it as armour.”
The label donates part of its proceeds to cases related to education and tuition support – a nod to Khoury’s own journey from modest beginnings to financial independence.
Still, she admits fashion is more passion than profit. “It’s my biggest expense,” she laughed. “But it allows me to be creative and give back.”
Business lessons and personal power
Despite her assertive on-screen persona, Khoury is introspective. “People think I’m harsh. But I’m actually a softie. I lead with emotion. I’ve had to unlearn self-doubt and fear of failure.”
She traces this back to her childhood in Lebanon, where she watched her father’s business collapse amid currency devaluation. “I used to wonder, ‘why would I succeed? Am I really good, or is everyone else just bad?’”
“The moment you act like you have power, you lose it. My strength comes from the people around me – my team, my clients, my community.”
Zed Capital is expanding into a larger office. New projects are launching in Meydan and Dubai Production City. Her fashion line is moving production almost entirely to the UAE. Her short-term rental business, That Living, is growing fast. And her focus remains on empowering her daughter.
“I want her to know that financial independence is freedom,” she said. “Freedom to choose who to marry, where to live, what to study.”
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