Jesus Velandia
I build companies that make people feel seen. Today I do it from Dubai, for the Gulf's largest employers.
About Jesus Velandia
Jesus Velandia is a Venezuelan-born entrepreneur based in Dubai. As the Founder & CEO of Thanks To You, he leads the fastest-growing employee recognition platform in the Gulf region, partnering with companies like HSBC, Coca-Cola and Nestle. Before Dubai, he built distribution businesses across six countries — from Nike sportswear to dairy products reaching 2,500 clients across all 24 states of Venezuela.
Also known as: Jesus Velandia, Jesús Velandia, Jesus Armando Velandia Mora
Less salary, more opportunity
I climbed three sales grades at Nestle in eighteen months, then left for a job that paid less because it taught me more. My first capital came from sportswear I carried home from Panama in suitcases.
The flight that changed everything
Moved out of my seat on a flight to Panama, I ended up beside Abie Cohen. Twenty-two days later we were seated together again. He wrote a number on a napkin: Raymond Harari, who held Nike for South America. With $50,000 — the minimum was $500,000 — I took the exclusive distribution for western Venezuela.
"I would rather you buy five thousand dollars from me every month, for your whole life, than a million once."
Two hundred and fifty grams
I represented DMK, Lactogal and Leche Asturiana across all 24 states of Venezuela, 2,500 clients. My edge was a zipper bag of powdered milk — 250g, an industry first — because mothers at home reuse the bag. Four operators against competitors running three hundred: zero to 700 tonnes a month in four months.
Starting from zero, again
I lost the companies I had built. I arrived in the Emirates on 5 September 2022 with no company and one purpose. Then my accounts were frozen and I had nothing — my son asked me for ten euros and I couldn't give them to him.
"What hurt most was not being able to help you, my mother, my family."
Thanks To You
I built it from that lowest point. What changed was only the name, the purpose, and the moment I created it. We deliver recognition every month to the people who keep large organisations running across the UAE and the Gulf, with logistics by Aramex.
What I Believe
I arrived in Dubai on September 5, 2022, looking for a new beginning. I did not come with a company. I came with a purpose.
I have always believed that the people who keep a business running — the ones who arrive first and leave last, the ones who solve problems no one sees — deserve to be noticed. Not once a year at a ceremony. Every month. Consistently. Personally.
Thanks To You was born from that conviction. But it was also born from loss. I know what it feels like to build something from nothing, to watch it disappear, and to choose to build again. That experience taught me that gratitude is not a gesture — it is infrastructure. It is how companies retain the people they cannot afford to lose.
I am not building a gift box company. I am building a culture of recognition. One that reaches from the C-suite to the warehouse floor. One that tells every person in the chain: I see you, and what you do matters.
The Gulf is home to some of the most ambitious organisations in the world. I want them to be known not only for what they build, but for how they treat the people who build it.
Thanks To You
The Global Appreciation Movement. It's not about the box — it's about being seen.
Building cultures of gratitude
I have always loved contributing to the community around me — it is the thread that runs through every company I've built. Today I speak at events across the Gulf about why recognition is not a perk but a business strategy, and how the companies that thank their people are the ones that keep them.
Backing what I believe in
I invest in early-stage projects where I can contribute more than capital — operational experience, distribution know-how, and a network built across six countries. I look for founders who solve real problems for real people, especially in the Gulf and Latin America.
I'm available for speaking, interviews and collaborations.
