I'm building links, not for SEO but to try and generate direct traffic, if these links are no-follow am i safe from getting any Google penalties? Asked another way, can no-follow links hurt my site?
No definitely not. No-follow links will not be taken as a count. A no-follow link is just a link that can redirect to your site by clicking on it and it will not create a negative impact on your site.
No follow links do not hurt ranking. They do not contribute to keyword rankings but are important to redirect traffic to your website from various external webpages.