Current & Past Ventures
From agency roots to AI-native — this is the journey.
Below is my journey across various ventures, brands, and projects. Some recent press includes coverage from Al Jazeera and Bloomberg Adria.
10x
Native AI. Real Leverage. Exponential Impact.
10x is our commitment to building the future — not around AI, but with it at the core.
We’re going fully native AI. That means creating tools, systems, and services designed from the ground up to help people achieve 10x outcomes — in less time, with fewer resources, and with more clarity. This isn’t about shortcuts. It’s about scale, leverage, and transformation.
At the center of 10x is our methodology:
Enable teams and customers to accomplish 10x more — using the same effort — through the power of AI.
FlyRank is the first product to emerge from this ecosystem — a full-stack AI growth engine for content, SEO, and AEO. But it’s just the beginning.
We're actively evolving our two agencies — Power Commerce and Praella — into next-gen delivery engines. As part of the 10x ecosystem, they are launching a new vertical:
AI Implementation & Services
Helping brands apply AI across product, marketing, CX, and operations — to 10x their performance, process, and potential.
From software to strategy, we're building a suite of tools and services that redefine what teams can do — and how fast they can do it.
This is more than a pivot. It’s a full-stack evolution toward the future of work.
🚀 10x: Coming Soon
FlyRank
The AI Growth Engine for Content, SEO, and AEO
FlyRank is our latest and most ambitious venture — a platform designed to solve the growing complexity of scaling organic growth. We're building the first Enterprise AI Growth Engine that enables companies to generate, optimize, and manage content at scale — across SEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).
Over the years, we've seen teams struggle with the same bottlenecks: content velocity, ranking volatility, and the growing gap between strategy and execution. FlyRank closes that gap. It’s not just another AI writer — it’s a full-stack growth engine built for marketing teams, product-led organizations, and founders who want results, not just drafts.
With AI at the core, FlyRank helps you:
- Generate high-quality, search-optimized content fast
- Monitor rankings and content performance in real time
- Optimize across traditional SEO and emerging answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
- Scale globally with localized, multilingual output
We're working closely with early partners and building toward a future where content creation is no longer a bottleneck — but a growth lever.
The goal? 10x your organic reach, without 10x the headcount.
This is more than a tool. It’s a shift in how modern teams grow.
As part of our ongoing innovation, we also operate two experimental products under FlyRank Labs:
- jaqnjil.ai: A fast, zero-friction tool for generating bite-sized SEO answers in a single click.
- saasinsights.co: A SaaS intelligence tracker offering real-time visibility into rankings, category movements, and SEO performance.
These Labs projects let us test bold ideas in the wild — and bring them back into FlyRank’s core engine when they prove valuable.
Power Commerce, formerly Wolfpoint Agency
Enterprise Services. Platform Flexibility. Brand-Centric Execution.
Power Commerce, formerly known as Wolfpoint Agency, is part of the Praella Agency Group — our core ecommerce solutions powerhouse.
Established in 2016 as a certified Shopify Plus Partner, Wolfpoint quickly grew into one of the top-performing agencies in the ecosystem. As a Recharge Elite Partner, we’ve worked with some of the world’s most recognized brands — including Condé Nast, Natura Brasil, Tula Skincare, Dr. Squatch, Martha Stewart, Ghost, and many more.
As the ecommerce landscape evolved, so did we.
We rebranded Wolfpoint into Power Commerce to better reflect our broader vision: delivering solutions that go beyond Shopify. Today, Power Commerce focuses on helping brands thrive across a variety of platforms and ecosystems — including:
- Content Management Systems like WordPress, Webflow, and Headless CMS
- Global eCommerce Platforms such as Shopline and Shoplazza
- Enterprise Suites like Adobe Experience Manager
- Custom Solutions tailored to unique business needs
With Power Commerce, we help brands scale with agility — whether they’re building on Shopify or moving beyond it. We bring deep technical experience, creative execution, and a platform-agnostic mindset to every challenge.
We don’t just build. We power commerce.
🔗 Visit powercommerce.co
Shop Circle
Scaling the World’s Most Complete Shopify App Stack
After founding and scaling HulkApps, we joined Shop Circle following the acquisition to help define and expand the portfolio. Over two years, we helped grow the company from a suite of acquired products into a 50+ app ecosystem, serving merchants around the world.
My responsibilities spanned product, operations, tech, marketing, and M&A — with a focus on integrating and scaling post-acquisition apps. We directly led or supported the acquisitions of 10+ Shopify Apps, including:
Eastside, Accentuate, Wholesale Helper, Aiden, 506, Bold, CartHook, Rush, Releasit, Forsberg+2
I personally hired and managed 180+ people, built out new divisions, and introduced an AI-first roadmap that embedded automation, performance tracking, and competitor intelligence into product and growth workflows.
We’re incredibly proud of what Shop Circle became — and how Sarajevo grew into its HQ and innovation hub.
HulkApps, acquired by Shop Circle
From Frustration to Flagship — The Journey That Changed Everything
HulkApps is where everything truly clicked.
We founded HulkApps after leaving Empist (formerly Digerati Group), driven by a deep frustration with bureaucracy and stagnation. We didn’t want to ask for permission to grow — we wanted to build. And build we did.
What started as a small, scrappy operation quickly evolved into one of the largest independent Shopify app and service providers in the world.
We grew HulkApps into:
- 20+ apps, 11 Shopify themes, and 100,000+ merchants served
- Over 300 million consumer interactions powered through our merchants
- An infrastructure capable of handling 1.3 billion+ requests
- A globally distributed team with headquarters in Sarajevo, later home to 135+ employees
Our growth defied conventional agency logic. Instead of focusing narrowly on one offering, we embraced the full Shopify merchant lifecycle — from theme development to custom services, and eventually, apps at scale. We scaled responsibly across each channel, with strong internal teams and strategic leadership.
📝 Read more about our approach:
🔗 How HulkApps Expanded Their Business with Shopify Service Offerings
Acquisition & A New Chapter
In September 2022, HulkApps was acquired by Shop Circle, and became its flagship acquisition — forming the cultural and operational blueprint that helped shape what Shop Circle is today.
We joined forces to scale faster, build smarter, and tap into a broader ecosystem of tools and talent. And more importantly, we stayed true to our mission: helping ecommerce merchants create unforgettable customer experiences, drive loyalty, and grow their brands.
📰 Read the official announcement:
🔗 A New Chapter for HulkApps
People First, Always
None of this would have been possible without the people who poured their energy, heart, and hustle into HulkApps. We’re especially thankful for:
Amer Grozdanic, Chirag Desai, Gini Bandheri, Niraj Delvadia, Keval Kankotiya, Bhavya Bhavsar, Shruti Shah, and many, many more — each of whom helped HulkApps become more than just a company. They helped shape a culture of execution, ownership, and unmatched resilience.
Legacy
HulkApps remains one of the most important building blocks in our journey. It was proof that bold bets, clear vision, and relentless action can change not only your business — but an entire ecosystem.
From themes to services to apps, and from startup grit to global scale — HulkApps became more than we ever imagined. And it’s still growing.
We’re proud of what we built. Even more proud of who we built it with.
Praella
Elite Strategy. Award-Winning Execution. People-First Culture.
Praella is our flagship agency — where creativity, engineering, and performance intersect. We specialize in building high-performing ecommerce experiences for the world’s most ambitious brands.
As a recognized leader in the space, we’re proud to hold several key distinctions:
- ✅ Shopify Elite Partner — placing us among the top 1% of Shopify agencies globally
- 🏆 Webby Award Winner — for our work on Billie Eilish Fragrances (Best Homepage Design – 2022)
- 🏅 Webby Award Nominee — for Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs
- 💼 Elite Partner of Shopify, Recharge, Gorgias, and Klaviyo
- 🌱 Certified Great Place to Work — reflecting our commitment to culture and employee satisfaction
Praella is also a continuation of our core founding team — Alen, Amer, Chirag, Niraj, and Keval — the same group behind HulkApps. With deep experience, shared trust, and a decade-long partnership, we've carried forward our culture of execution, curiosity, and excellence into every project at Praella.
At Praella, we don’t just deliver. We co-create with clients — bringing design precision, technical depth, and growth strategy to every project. From Shopify Plus builds to retention systems, we help brands scale with confidence.
We believe award-winning work starts with a culture that puts people first — both internally and with the partners we serve.
🔗 CartHook, a Shop Circle acquisition
Rebuilt. Repositioned. Revived.
CartHook was the original post-purchase offer app for Shopify and Recharge — the one that started it all. But over time, the product lost momentum and market share, ultimately becoming a distressed asset with significant untapped potential.
During our time at Shop Circle, we led the due diligence, acquisition, and strategic repositioning of CartHook. Within a few months, the app was stabilized, re-engineered, and transformed into a profitable product once again — fully integrated into the Shop Circle portfolio.
A key part of that turnaround was the hustle and leadership of people like Tarik "Sela" Selimović (Product Owner) and Adel Rovčanin (Marketing Manager), who played instrumental roles in rebuilding trust with users and repositioning CartHook as a serious competitor in the post-purchase space — going head-to-head with tools like AfterSell.
Notably, CartHook also became one of the first apps to receive Shopify’s Built for Shopify badge — a milestone that speaks to the quality, performance, and trust the team worked hard to deliver. Major kudos to Tarik and the rest of the team for pushing the product to that level.
CartHook continues to operate under the Shop Circle umbrella, serving merchants who want to maximize checkout revenue and optimize post-purchase workflows.
Releasit, a Shop Circle acquisition
Enabling Cash-on-Delivery Growth Across LATAM & Asia
Releasit was a powerful post-purchase solution focused on enabling Cash on Delivery (COD) workflows for merchants across LATAM and Asia. We led the due diligence, acquisition, and strategic transition — which notably included replacing the founder, Gabriele, within just 6 months, with no disruption to the business. That transition remains one of our proudest operational milestones.
We scaled Releasit into one of Shop Circle’s flagship products, growing the team by 25+ people and doubling revenue year-over-year. We also launched a new support and partnerships division in Colombia, giving us a critical strategic presence in LATAM.
More importantly, we enabled a strong new generation of team leaders who continue the mission today — including Edin Lindov, Muhamed Musa, Mehmed "Mesa" Duranovic, and Kenneth Montoya, among many others.
Accentuate, a Shop Circle acquisition
From Danish Roots to Global Scale
Accentuate was acquired by Shop Circle in 2023 from Ole Thorup, a Danish entrepreneur who built one of Shopify’s most loved field management tools.
We were tasked with rebuilding the full team — including support, product, and development — and managing a series of critical infrastructure migrations. The transition was completed in just 6 months.
Led by Haris "Hole" Hodžić, who continues to serve as General Manager, Accentuate was successfully integrated and remains one of the most technically robust apps in the portfolio.
Rush, a Shop Circle acquisition
Rebuilt Into a Scalable Post-Purchase Tracking Experience
Rush was an order status tracking app that we acquired and successfully integrated into the HulkApps Order Status Tracker (OST).
We led the due diligence, strategy, and hands-on team deployment that helped stabilize and migrate Rush merchants into a more reliable, scalable solution under the HulkApps brand.
Special thanks to Mario Peshev (former CEO of Rush) and Admir Saheta (one of our core developers), who were instrumental in the transition and platform merge.
📰 Read the acquisition announcement
Eastside, a Shop Circle acquisition
Quick Turnaround, Long-Term Growth
We worked with Jason Stokes from Eastside Co to acquire two of their core apps — Easy Redirects and Back in Stock — marking the first post-HulkApps acquisition where the HulkApps team took full lead on the transition.
Big kudos to Shailesh Desai and Tarik "Sela" Selimović for leading this project from both the product and technical sides. After their transition to other roles, the torch was carried by Anes Mehovic and Tarik Lilic, who continue to drive growth.
Despite a tight one-month transition window, our team executed a full handover, ensuring these apps remained strong contributors to the Shop Circle portfolio.
Bold Commerce, a Shop Circle acquisition
Complex Transition. Scalable Impact.
As part of our acquisition work at Shop Circle, we partnered with Bold Commerce to acquire key products including Bold Product Options, Bold Loyalty Points, and Bold Store Locator.
This was one of our most technically demanding acquisitions, requiring the setup of a dedicated support, product, CX, and engineering team — largely based in Bosnia.
Shoutout to JP Tretault, Harun Fazlagić, Arijana Ibrović, and Seid Korać, along with many others, who helped transition and scale these complex applications.
Today, they remain cornerstone apps within the Shop Circle portfolio, continuing to thrive on the Shopify App Store.
Seapixel
Small Studio. Sharp Ideas. Special Projects.
Seapixel is a boutique venture studio focused on building technical frameworks and supporting high-impact, special projects behind the scenes.
Founded alongside Evan Skoulikaritis — a close friend and long-time collaborator — Seapixel has been a creative playground for experimentation, problem-solving, and custom app development. Evan continues to lead custom product initiatives through Seapixel today.
💡 Fun fact: We quietly sold FluidFramework.com to Microsoft — a lesser-known, but proud moment in our journey.
Seapixel may be small by design, but its impact is woven into many of the tools, systems, and frameworks we’ve helped bring to life across our portfolio.
Lumia Marketing Agency, acquired by Empist
From Email to eCommerce — Built for Growth, Acquired for Impact
After exiting Optyn, we took everything we had learned — from building SaaS platforms to scaling email marketing solutions — and returned to our core mission: helping merchants grow. That’s how Lumia was born.
We originally launched as an email marketing agency but quickly pivoted to support the rapidly expanding Shopify ecosystem. The timing was right — and so was the focus. We began working with some of the fastest-growing DTC brands like MVMT Watches, Argo Tea, and Gramovox, driving results through full-funnel marketing: web, email, social, and beyond.
Lumia evolved into a full-service Shopify Web Development and eCommerce Growth Agency, combining UX, development, and performance marketing into one tight team. We had the privilege of becoming the first official Shopify Plus Partner, supporting some of the most influential brands still thriving on the platform today.
In 2016, we were acquired by Digerati Group, a digital consultancy that would later rebrand into Empist. The acquisition enabled our team to scale capabilities within a larger ecosystem, while still maintaining our mission of driving meaningful growth for ecommerce brands. I signed a three-year agreement as part of the acquisition — but didn’t last more than one, triggering an early exit clause. The good news? That’s how HulkApps was born.
📰 Chicago Inno: Digerati Group acquires Lumia
📰 Empist Celebrates 25 Years
Optyn, acquired by CDS
Email Marketing Made Simple for Small Businesses
Optyn was an email and social media marketing platform designed from the ground up for small businesses. At a time when less than 4% of SMBs were using email marketing tools, we saw a massive opportunity: the existing platforms were built for power users — not for the busy local merchant trying to stay afloat. Optyn changed that.
We built a simple, image-based platform that allowed merchants to launch professional campaigns in under two minutes. No blank canvases. No complex tools. Just guided, proven templates that worked — and a product that held your hand the whole way. With a few clicks, a small business could re-engage its entire customer base and see measurable results.
Behind the product was a battle-tested founding team: we had already built and exited Dealer, which sent millions of emails per day to over 10,000 businesses. That experience, combined with insights from running local brick-and-mortar shops ourselves, shaped Optyn’s usability and vision. Together with Louis Morales (COO) and Gaurav Gaglani (CTO), we built the platform and scaled a team of eight developers to deliver it to market.
Optyn didn’t just gain traction with customers — it attracted partners. We launched a white-label strategy with platforms like E Street, giving 1,500+ restaurants the ability to promote offers directly from their dashboards. That distribution-first approach helped us scale and paved the way for what came next.
In October 2014, Optyn was acquired by Central Data Storage, marking a successful exit and proving the demand for SMB-first marketing tools.
📄 Raised $309K — view funding history
🎥 View our pitch to the gener8tor investor community from Summer 2013
📰 Acquisition Coverage:
- Milwaukee Business Journal - gener8tor grad Optyn Acquired
- Chicago Inno - Central Data Storage acquires Optyn
- GM Today- gener8tor Company Optyn Acquired
Dealster, Acquired by nCrowd
Scaling Daily Deals Through Self-Service Technology
After the acquisition of Chitown Deals, we had a simple but bold insight: do it again — but do it better. That idea led to the creation of Dealster.
We acquired the domain for $10,000 — a serious commitment back in 2010 — and launched Dealster with a new approach to local offers. Instead of replicating the Groupon model, we built a self-service platform that allowed merchants across the U.S. to create, manage, and publish their own deals.
The model worked. Dealster quickly scaled to serve customers in over 25,000 cities and towns, becoming one of the largest daily deal sites in the market at the time.
That growth caught the attention of Half Off Depot, which acquired Dealster in April 2012.
📰 PR Newswire - Half Off Depot acquires Dealster.
📰 Atlanta Business Chronicle - Half Off Depot picks up Dealster
Our entire team joined Half Off Depot, which later rebranded as nCrowd during a wave of roll-ups in the space. We took the Dealster platform and evolved it into the core technology stack behind nCrowd, helping power thousands of deals and millions in transactions. At its peak, nCrowd became the #2 player in the daily deals industry, right behind Groupon.
During our time at nCrowd, I also co-authored and led the filing of a patent for group buying technology that enabled smarter targeting and retention strategies.
📜 WO2014186385 - Customer Targeting, Acquisition, and Retention Platform and Method
Dealster’s evolution from a bold idea to a nationally recognized platform laid the groundwork for many of the commerce and performance marketing systems we’ve built since.
Chitown Deals, acquired by Tippr
Coupons, Daily Deals & a 2010 Exit
Chitown Deals was one of our very first startup ventures — born out of the economic uncertainty following the 2008 Recession, when consumers increasingly turned to savings and smarter spending.
The first version of Chitown Deals launched through a partnership with Coupons.com, delivering curated weekly coupons to Chicago-based subscribers. As the appetite for local deals grew, the platform evolved into a full-blown Daily Deal marketplace — enabling merchants to create and promote their own offers directly to nearby customers.
At its peak, Chitown Deals became the second most popular daily deal site in Chicago, trailing only Groupon. Its rapid growth and local traction caught the attention of industry players, and on June 1, 2010, Chitown Deals was officially acquired by Tippr, expanding their national footprint to 10 U.S. markets.