The Role of Purpose in Shaping Successful Ventures Exploring how purpose-driven leadership and self-mastery are reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape.

An authority in human behaviour, Nevşah Fidan Karamehmet is the founder and CEO of Nevsah Institute, Breath Hub, Nev Cap, Smart Real Estate Consultancy aswell as co-founder at Welly Labs and Five Stars AI Fund. She also holds a Limited Partnership at Treeo VC. Entrepreneur UK caught up with Nevşah to find out where it all began and what keeps inspiring her to this day.

What was your first experience of starting a business, and what inspired you to take that leap?
I am highly conscious of who I am and what I want for my life. I've been on a clear mission since I was 15, and that mission led me to build my first business. The business idea was "helping humans evolve and thrive," which is my mission in this lifetime. I was 23 when I first started it. I've been meditating since I was 13, so I'm someone very connected with herself - who she is. I just knew. I just knew that my mission in this lifetime was about helping humans grow, expand, thrive. So I dedicated my life to projects around that.

How did that go, and what were the most valuable lessons you took away from it?
My first venture did not grow, because I was too young and naïve. I wanted to build a big community platform on the internet, in the very, very early days - but the time wasn't right. I was too ahead of the game, so it didn't work out because it didn't get investment. The next thing I knew, Facebook appeared, and I was like, "I thought of that before!" That was a big life lesson for me: act when the time is right and do not give up. I wish I hadn't given up on my dream of "building the world's largest community platform" just because the timing wasn't right. I could have tried harder. The platform was supposed to be something like Facebook, but more mature and authentic - where people could share their life stories, experiences, what they learned, and mentor each other. Not being able to create that platform motivated me to work harder, focus more, and get clear on my objectives. After that, I started creating clear plans and structures.

What motivated you to share your knowledge and experience with other entrepreneurs?
I built my first business when I was 23. I didn't succeed. Then I built my second business and was leading a team of 89 when I was 25. I sold that company, built another one, sold it, built another, and kept on building businesses for over 25 years. I became a multi-millionaire and financially independent by the age of 35. I started investing in companies, projects, and startups, and became an LP. Until today, I've helped over 100 entrepreneurs and businesses thrive. I've built so much wisdom, experience, and certainty that I decided I wanted to pass on what I've learned to younger generations. That's why I built Nev Cap Accelerator. The first business was a media company. The second was a yoga and meditation centre, which had franchises. The third was a wellness app. What I learned by leading a team of 89 people at 25 is this: the mindset and consciousness of the leader gets directly reflected in the team. So the most important things for leaders are having a clear mindset, managing your emotions and behaviours, staying calm in times of stress and negativity, and being self-reliant, more than anything. If you can master these, you'll build a great team and get the best results. I'm still building businesses. We're currently creating a wellness and retreat centre in Turkey as we speak.

From your work with start-ups and business leaders, what are the most common challenges entrepreneurs face?
I think it's motivation. Because humans are conditioned - and most entrepreneurs are trying to do business with conditioned mindsets like "I have to," "I've got to," "I ought to." If you need outside motivation, you cannot create a successful business. You will succeed only if you create a business aligned with your values. The most successful entrepreneurs are those who are inspired from within - who don't need outside motivation to get up in the morning and do business.That's why I help entrepreneurs get clear on who they are, what their priorities and values are, and create meaningful businesses around those, so they don't need external motivation, but are inspired from within. Most founders start their businesses with a conditioned mindset, like "I need to be rich" or "I have to succeed." Many are chasing success or a title, rather than solving a meaningful problem.

I'm amazed at how many founders are interested in "the idea of building a billion-dollar business" as if that will solve everything. But they miss the fact that we, as humans, are after meaning. Even if you succeed and build your company, if it's not aligned with your deeper purpose, it will still feel empty. And that's a sad story. One of the biggest reasons why startups and businesses fail is because the founders quit. It takes self-mastery, a high level of dedication, and inspiration to not quit and keep growing no matter what. This is what we are after.

Can you highlight one or two specific mistakes or pitfalls that you see in entrepreneurs and/or their business plans, and how they can be avoided?
Yes. One of the biggest mistakes is not being clear on why you're doing what you're doing. And that is everything. If you know your why, the how takes care of itself. But if you don't, you get lost easily. If you have a clear mission, you find ways to fulfil it. If you don't, you give up, need motivation, feel uncertain, and experience emotional ups and downs. Another mistake is assuming there's a market just because you think so. Not doing enough market research before starting is a huge issue. You need data. You need numbers. You need an MVP. And customers. Plus lots and lots of tests before you do anything big. I don't want to give names, but I've seen founders who built billion-dollar companies, sold their shares, had over £500m in their accounts—and then lost their minds. They hadn't found any meaning. And I've also seen incredibly fulfilled, happy, healthy entrepreneurs with simple business models making £1m a year. We need to remind founders more often that it's never about the business or the money. It's always about you. Who you are. How you want to live the rest of your life. A Turkish delivery brand run by friends of ours raised around £2b from investors. It failed because of disagreements over business strategy, investing too fast, overspending on marketing, and pricing and product mistakes. They didn't take the time to really understand their customers. They tried to "buy" loyalty with promotions and giveaways, but they weren't customer-obsessed. They were business- and growth-obsessed. If you're targeting everyone, you're targeting no one. If you don't have a dedicated customer base - fans - your business will fail. Many startups fail because they don't have truly loyal customers. They burn money trying to grow fast, but the moment another app comes along, they disappear. Not obsessing over your customer is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Your work focuses a lot on mastery, mindset and alignment. How important is it for entrepreneurs to be aligned with their purpose, and how does this impact their success?
I've been on a clear mission ever since I knew myself. All of my projects are aligned with that one mission - and that's given me the privilege of becoming a respected, trusted community leader.

Being clear on your mission and staying with it is what builds your personal brand. When people trust you, they choose you. They believe in you because of who you are, what you stand for, and the problems you are truly committed to solving. My mission is "helping humans thrive," and I've been dedicated to that for over 27 years. That's what I stand for. That's why I exist. All of our businesses are built around that same mission. That doesn't mean I only do one thing. I'm currently involved in 11 companies, as a leader or board member. One focuses on helping people thrive in wellness. One focuses on helping humans thrive in business. Another focuses on helping women thrive. But they're all aligned with the same mission. That alignment is what makes my brands trusted. People can feel the sincerity. They know we're not just in it for the money. We're here to help. And that reflects in how we speak, how we serve, and what we create. If you have a mission and a clear vision for your future, there is nothing you cannot achieve.

If there were one key piece of advice you think every entrepreneur should follow, what would it be?
Invest in "knowing thyself" before you build a business. Classic Vedic meditation and daily breathwork are the most powerful tools I can recommend. That's why we built Breath Hub - so people can use it daily and know themselves more deeply. The app has over 800 sessions, plus a unique algorithm that analyses your breathing patterns through behavioural questions and builds a personalised journey for you. I highly recommend doing a breath analysis and practicing breathwork every day. It will change everything.

Related: Turning Innovation into Reality

Nevşah Fidan Karamehmet is a serial entrepreneur, investor, professional speaker and a best-selling author.