Dr. Turner Nashe – Making a Difference

Circle Back is a podcast produced by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center where we listen to success stories from big ideas to big success. On this episode of Circle Back, we get to meet Nashville resident, Dr. Turner Nashe. 

Teetering back and forth between the projects and the suburbs, Dr. Turner Nashe had a series of experiences that shaped his entrepreneurial efforts that started with learning about entrepreneurship and business to a faith-driven voice showing him he can focus on making a difference. Prison reform, education, tech, insurance, real estate and more – follow along on this episode of Circle Back to learn about Dr. Turner Nashe’s six businesses and counting.

Growing Up

Dr. Turner Nashe grew up with humble beginnings in the projects with his mom, who worked in banking. With a knack for finding ways to make money, Nashe was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. Eventually moving into the suburbs, Nashe experienced firsthand how the opportunities can be limited due to a family’s socioeconomic status or location. When his mom got a new job that relocated her internationally, Nashe had the option to move to St. Thomas with her, or move to Cleveland with his Dad. Decking to stay in America, Nashe was back in the projects where he lost classmates and friends to violence or jail. This experience would later impact Nashe’s entrepreneurial journey. 

Becoming an Entrepreneur 

Attending John Carroll University was where Dr. Turner Nashe learned to think critically. He focused on becoming an entrepreneur shortly after graduating. Starting out with a partner, he created shoe bands for motorcycle drivers. It was thanks to a deal with Walmart that this company saw success. Nashe sold his portion of the business and used that as seed money to start new businesses. 

Described as the Forrest Gump of entrepreneurship, Dr. Turner Nashe got some advice from the bank as he was depositing his earnings to consider buying real estate. It was then that he stepped into a world of flipping houses. Because of the amount of houses that he was flipping, he saw an opportunity in his profit & loss statements to start a mortgage company too. As that continued to find more success, Dr. Nashe continued to own the company, but stepped away to move to Nashville and continue his education at Tennessee State University. 

Circling back to his beginnings, Dr. Turner Nashe stepped into education and tech to support prison reform. The biggest obstacle was trying to sell something to for-profit prisons that would mean their profits would decrease. But eventually, his innovations led to music software and more that began to show up in prison systems. As a husband and father, Dr. Turner Nashe focuses on making a difference as an entrepreneur today. 

Focused on Making a Difference

Nashe gives credit to his faith for his success. Listening to voices and a gut instinct is Nashe’s way of listening to his purpose from God. He now leans into a path that is focused on making a difference over money. “I don’t walk around aiming to make a whole bunch of money. I do walk around aiming to solve complex problems that involve a lot of people.”