Building More Than Technology
When Neofytos Zacharia and Andreas Ttofi founded Nepheli in Cyprus in 2024, they already possessed something many startups spend years trying to achieve: deep technical expertise, international clients, and a clear understanding of the challenges faced by software development teams.
Their company provided DevOps and platform engineering services to clients in Cyprus, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Dubai. At the same time, they were developing Hermeez, an innovative AI-powered platform designed to simplify infrastructure management, optimise cloud costs, improve compliance, and make complex engineering environments accessible through a natural-language interface.
Despite the strong technology, the founders faced a common challenge among engineering-driven startups:
How do you transform technical excellence into a scalable business?
As Neofytos later reflected:
“Before TRIANGLE, we were technical founders. We had no clear business model, no real go-to-market strategy, and we were constantly balancing consulting work with product development.”
Entering the TRIANGLE Startup Mentorship Programme
Nepheli joined the TRIANGLE Startup Mentorship Programme during Phase 1, an initiative funded through the EIT Higher Education Initiative and designed to support innovative startups through tailored mentoring, expert guidance, and ecosystem-building activities.
During the first mentoring sessions, the founders presented their vision for Hermeez and their ambition to transition from a consulting-based business model toward a scalable product company. The mentors immediately recognised the potential of the technology, but also identified critical strategic questions that needed to be addressed.
One of the most important insights came from discussions around customer development. Mentors encouraged the founders to stop viewing their existing customers simply as revenue sources and instead see them as opportunities for learning and validation.
“You already have access to potential customers. They are paying you to understand their problems. Use that opportunity for customer development.”
Learning to Focus
Like many technically ambitious startups, Nepheli initially envisioned a platform capable of solving multiple problems for multiple stakeholders. During the mentoring process, mentors repeatedly emphasised the importance of focus.
“If you try to do too many things for too many people, you end up doing nothing perfectly for anybody.”
These conversations pushed the founders to rethink how they positioned Hermeez in the market. Rather than building every possible feature at once, they began prioritising specific customer needs and validating them through existing client relationships.
The programme also helped the team explore:
- Customer development methodologies
- Business model validation
- Pricing strategies
- Market positioning
- Investor readiness
- Communication with decision-makers
- The transition from service revenues to recurring product revenues
From Questions to Results
The impact of the mentoring programme became visible over the months that followed. According to Neofytos, the biggest value did not come from receiving answers, but from being challenged with better questions.
During the TRIANGLE Phase 2 Kick-Off Meeting, he summarised his journey through three stages:
Before TRIANGLE
- Technical founder
- No clear business model
- No go-to-market strategy
- Consulting vs. product tension
During TRIANGLE
- Hard questions forced strategic thinking
- Greater clarity around customers and value proposition
- Improved go-to-market understanding
- Access to a broader entrepreneurial network
After TRIANGLE
- Live pilots with real companies
- Partnership discussions with a Big Four firm
- Progress toward a seed funding round
For Nepheli, the transformation was not about rewriting code or developing new technology. It was about developing entrepreneurial thinking.
“None of that came from better code. It came from better thinking.”
Closing the Circle: Becoming a Mentor
Perhaps the most powerful outcome of the TRIANGLE programme is what happened next. After benefiting from mentoring during Phase 1, Neofytos returned during Phase 2 — not as a startup participant, but as a mentor.
At the official launch of the TRIANGLE Phase 2 Startup Mentorship Programme, he shared his experience with a new cohort of founders. His advice reflected the principles that had shaped his own growth:
- Be coachable — “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
- Do the work between sessions — “The sessions are the spark. You are the fire.”
- Use the network — “This room is your ecosystem now.”
By stepping into a mentoring role, Neofytos demonstrates the long-term vision of TRIANGLE: creating self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystems where today’s participants become tomorrow’s mentors.
A Growing Innovation Ecosystem
The story of Nepheli illustrates how startup support goes beyond technology, funding, or business plans. Through structured mentoring, critical reflection, and access to experienced entrepreneurs, startups gain the strategic capabilities needed to grow sustainably.
Today, Nepheli continues to develop innovative AI-powered infrastructure solutions while expanding its market presence and commercial opportunities — and its founder now contributes back to the community that helped shape the company’s journey.
For TRIANGLE, this represents the ultimate measure of success: not only helping startups grow, but empowering founders to become leaders who support the next generation of innovators.
“The biggest value of TRIANGLE was that it challenged us to think differently. We entered as technical founders focused on building technology. We left with a much clearer understanding of customers, business models, and growth. Being able to come back as a mentor and support other founders is something I am genuinely proud of.”
— Neofytos Zacharia, Co-founder, Nepheli