Founders who build without permission often do so out of necessity. Others do it by design.
Gurhan Kiziloz didn’t raise capital to build Nexus International. He didn’t assemble a board, seek investor advice, or dilute ownership. His company generated over $400 million in revenue in 2024 and aims to reach $1.45 billion by the end of 2025. All of it was built from revenue, speed, and personal conviction.
It’s an approach that cuts against the grain in today’s startup culture, but it’s not without precedent. Richard Branson followed a similar logic with Virgin: challenge slow-moving incumbents, avoid traditional playbooks, and stay in control of the vision. Where Branson challenged regulators and monopolies with branding and bold stunts, Kiziloz operates behind the scenes, without PR, external capital, or consensus.
What connects the two isn’t personality; Branson is known for being outgoing and media-savvy, Kiziloz avoids attention entirely. It’s their shared preference for building outside the system, especially when the system slows things down.
Branson built Virgin in the 1970s, starting with music and moving quickly into sectors like aviation, rail, and telecom. He wasn’t backed by capital in the traditional sense. He borrowed, risked, and reinvested constantly, often taking on markets dominated by large, risk-averse players. Virgin Atlantic was launched to compete with British Airways; Virgin Trains was Branson’s answer to a sluggish rail network. In each case, he entered heavily regulated industries with limited experience and little institutional support.
Kiziloz’s version of this plays out in Brazil, where Megaposta, Nexus’s flagship gaming platform, operates in a legally complex and often unpredictable market. Few investors are eager to deploy capital in that environment, but Kiziloz didn’t try to convince them. He just built anyway. “If I can build it myself, I will,” he stated. “I don’t want anyone else’s fingerprints on this.”
That refusal to share control runs through every part of Nexus. There’s no board. No investor updates. No roadmap that needs buy-in. “Give me an idea. I like it. Go get it done,” Kiziloz said, when describing how decisions are made. It’s a system built for clarity, not debate.
Branson operated differently; he welcomed attention and often used it to his advantage. He became the face of Virgin’s challenges to legacy industries. His public persona, whether flying hot air balloons or standing up to regulators, made Virgin feel nimble, even when it wasn’t. But behind the showmanship was the same underlying strategy: take control early and hold it long enough to outlast the competition.
In both cases, control didn’t just mean avoiding outside voices. It meant moving into high-friction industries and making speed a competitive advantage. Branson’s biggest bets came in areas where regulation slowed down incumbents. Kiziloz has done something similar, using his independence to move faster in markets that others tiptoe around.
They differ in scale and structure. Virgin eventually became a global network of semi-autonomous businesses, some successful, others not. Branson expanded broadly and took on multiple industries at once. Kiziloz has remained focused. Nexus is concentrated in gaming, and while the business is scaling quickly, it’s not sprawling. That focus allows for tighter control, but also places more pressure on him personally.
Branson often credited his team. Kiziloz doesn’t speak that way. Asked how he maintains momentum without burnout, he said: “Not everyone is designed to take a ride in a rocketship.” He doesn’t romanticize leadership or culture. He just keeps moving.
Both founders accepted the risks that come with ownership. Branson borrowed heavily to stay in control. Kiziloz self-funded to avoid dilution. Both entered regulated sectors without waiting for perfect timing. And neither relied on the usual structures to build momentum.
Branson did it with visibility. Kiziloz does it by disappearing into the work. But in the end, both chose control over compromise, and shaped their companies around what they believed, not what they were told.
This article was written in cooperation with Gurhan Kiziloz