[1] He was born in Kordun's Gornji Budački near Krnjak, at the time in the Austrian Empire.

Upon his return from Vienna, he dedicated himself to commerce and took over the firm "Gustaf Saher" in Zagreb.

He was also the founder of the Serbian Business Association Privrednik (1897) and the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives.

[2][3] Privrednik is an organization of the Serb minority in Croatia,[4] which is aimed to creating and increasing economic opportunities in rural areas where the majority of Serbs live in Croatia, as well as the development of professional skills of individuals.

After the Great War, once the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was well established, in 1922, Vladimir Matijević moved his business to Belgrade and in 1923 founded the Serbian Privrednik or Zadruga Srba privrednika there.