Emir Ceric
Founder of VEEVUS. Born in Bosnia, raised in Denmark, at home in Tampa Bay.
About me
Who am I?
I was born in Bosnia. Because of the Balkan war, I grew up in Denmark. I started working when I was 14 and quickly realized I wanted to build something of my own one day. I loved creating things, solving problems, and turning ideas into something real. In 2006, that eventually led me to start VEEVUS.
I’ve always stayed deeply connected to my Balkan roots: the music, the traditions, the food, and above all, the importance of family and friendship. I’ll take a home-cooked meal with friends over a fancy restaurant any day. For me, it’s about the company and the conversation, not the place. And the friends closest to me? They’re basically my second family.
I’ve been fortunate to travel through many parts of the world. Along the way, I’ve met people from every walk of life: farmers and factory workers, business leaders and celebrities. Some had very little. Some had everything. And again and again, I noticed the same thing.
The happiest people weren’t the ones with the most things. They were the ones with genuine, loyal people in their lives.
When I’m not working, my life is actually pretty simple. I don’t drink, and I’ve never been a party person. Most of my free time is spent with friends, on a tennis court, out on our bikes, or on a long walk. That’s usually where you’ll find me.
VEEVUS
The company I built
VEEVUS started because of a problem my dad kept complaining about. He ties fishing flies, and the one thing I constantly heard him complain about was the thread. It would break. The quality wasn’t consistent. He could never quite find what he wanted. Eventually, I started wondering: why couldn’t it simply be better?
So I started studying it. I spent months traveling around Denmark meeting fly tyers. I watched how they worked, asked what frustrated them, showed them samples, took notes, changed things, and went back again. The product was shaped by the people actually using it. Every detail mattered: strength, consistency, diameter, colors, how the thread behaved in someone’s hands.
In 2006, I finally felt we had something worth putting a name on. VEEVUS was born.
Then I had to figure out how to build a company around it. One customer became another. One shop became ten. Denmark became Europe, and Europe became the rest of the world. Along the way, people in completely different industries started finding our threads. They weren’t fly tyers. They simply cared about the same things our original customers did: quality, strength, consistency and precision.
After 20 years, the part I still enjoy most hasn’t really changed. Find a problem. Listen to people. Build something. Improve it. And see where it leads. VEEVUS started with thread. What I’m building next starts with a much bigger question.
What’s next
What I’m building next, and why
Twenty years in, I’m less focused on the next product or the next sale, and more on what VEEVUS can make possible for local communities and their people.
What really got me thinking was AI. I watched more and more companies use it mainly for one thing: cutting costs. Smaller teams, fewer people, bigger margins. I understand why. But behind every one of those savings is a person.
I also watched the rise of influencers. They do the real work: the posts, the reviews, the trust they spent years building with their followers. But many programs pay them only once: a commission on the first order, and nothing more if that customer comes back. That never sat right with me.
What if the growth of our company could create income and opportunities for a lot of other people too?
So I’m building a new division of VEEVUS around one idea. We sell products, and use the revenue to create income opportunities for businesses, creators, and other people. Activewear is how we fund the idea. The people and opportunities it can support are why I’m building it.
No company grows entirely by itself. Someone recommends you. A customer tells a friend. A local business introduces you to its community. I want those people to have a chance to earn something too.
Gift cards, on us
Anyone who applies can give the people they know VEEVUS gift cards, paid for by us: $30 every quarter, $120 a year, for every person they invite, with no limit.
A real share, all year
Every time those customers shop with us, whoever invited them earns a share of the revenue. Not just on the first order, but on every order for a full year.
For local businesses
A yoga studio could offer a gift card to someone who tries a class. A coffee shop could offer one with a coffee purchase. New customers through the door, without spending a dollar.
For everyone else
You don’t need a big following, or even a business, to have value. Creators, and people whose friends simply trust their opinion, can take part too.
I’m not interested in building just another product. I want to build something where our success can become someone else’s opportunity too. The product funds it. The people are the point.