Sahar Hashemi

Co-Founder of Coffee Republic

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Listed in '100 Best Business Speakers in Britain'

In 1995 Sahar Hashemi together with her brother Bobby founded Coffee Republic, and built it into one of the UK's most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30m. Giving up highly professional jobs, she a lawyer in London and he an investment banker in New York, they staked everything on a dream - and made Coffee Republic one of the main players in the 'coffee revolution' that transformed a nation of tea drinkers into one obsessed with 'triple decaf half-caf lattes'.

Neither had any previous knowledge about retail or indeed coffee. But Sahar had developed a passion for the skinny lattes and fat free muffins she had seen in New York. How they came to build a nationwide coffee chain is a fascinating and inspirational tale of the ups and downs of following your dream. From the first conversation when the seed of the idea was planted, to getting a DTI Small Firms Loan Guarantee, finding a name and opening the first store, its a personal story about two people who stopped 'thinking about it' and 'did it'.

Sahar left the day to day management of Coffee Republic in 2001 and wrote a book called 'Anyone Can Do It - Building Coffee Republic from our Kitchen table' . Published in January 2003, 'Anyone Can Do It' has reached #1 on the Amazon business chart, sold over 50,000 copies, is 'suggested reading' for the London Business School entrepreneurship course. It has been translated into 6 languages. 'Anyone Can Do It' is the 2nd highest selling book ever published in the UK on entrepreneurship (only Richard Branson's book has sold more copies).

In 2005 Sahar has launched her new business idea-SKINNY CANDY- a brand of sugar free confectionary. It has already been named 'Hot!' by Tatler magazine and 'a winner' by the ES magazine. It is sold nationwide in branches of Harvey Nichols. Sahar intends to sell it shortly through Waitrose and other supermarkets.

Sahar has been named:

By Her Majesty The Queen as a 'Pioneer to the life of the nation'
Invited by the World Economic Forum to join the highly prestigious Forum of Young Global Leaders, 'a community of extraordinary leaders, under 40 years old, who are clearly exceptional on a global level' to have a significant impact on world affairs.
100 Most Influential Women in Britain by the Daily Mail and
Top 35 Women in British business under 35 by Management Today
20 most powerful women in Britain by Independent on Sunday.
Shell liveWIRE survey of inspirational role models: 1) Richard Branson 2) friends/family 3) Anita Roddick 4) James Dyson 5) Sahar Hashemi

Sahar has been the cover of Management Today, Director, Business 550, New Business and The Observer and the BMI inflight magazine. She is a speaker ambassador for the Prince's Trust.

Sahar delivers workshops to create intrapreneurs (employees who behave like entrepreneurs). The more employees within larger organisations exercise their entrepreneurial muscles, the more you can create an innovative, 'make it happen' culture that will be miles ahead of the competition. Please click on 'Projects' for further information.

presentation topics

Entrepreneurship
Self Motivation
Creativity
Innovation
Customer Service
Brand Building
Women in Business

testimonials

'She connected with the audience at an emotional level and made a lasting impression' -Microsoft

'It is always inspirational to hear the story from someone who has really pursued their dream and made it come true, particularly in such a down to earth fashion' -GlaxoSmithKline

'Your presentation hit the mark by encouraging people to push back the boundaries, develop a more entrepreneurial approach and simply make things happen!' - GIST

'Her strong message delivered in a natural way free of business psycho-babble' - Jersey Business Awards 2004

'Her energy and "just do it" attitude go down very well at conferences' ?-RICS England & Wales

'She is totally inspirational, has laser sharp focus and provides real life strategies for success. Sahar is a top speaker and audiences just adore her' - PWC

"Thank you for making the Confluence 2008, Infosys Client conference a huge success this year. Your energizing talk on the necessity of passion to drive business growth was inspiring for everyone. Needless to say our expectations were surpassed and any conference organizers would be lukcy to have you speak at their event in the future" - Infosys Technologies Ltd