Sahar Hashemi

Sahar Hashemi

• Founded ‘Coffee Republic‘ the UK’s first US-style coffee bar chain
• Best selling author of business books ‘Anyone Can Do It’, ‘Switched On’ and ‘Startup Forever’
• The Financial Time’s described the Coffee Republic brand as the 2nd most visible behind IKEA

Sahar Hashemi is a lawyer turned entrepreneur and most recognised as the Founder of Coffee Republic, the first big coffee brand in the UK.

Sahar studied law but later realised that her niche and true calling was in business. Sahar and her brother founded Coffee Republic the UK’s first coffee chain taking it to 110 outlets with a £50 million market cap. She then founded Skinny Candy, a market segment-defining brand of sugar-free sweets.

Her book ‘Anyone Can Do It’ was a best seller, demystifying the idea that entrepreneurship is a special quality only a few people possess.

Sahar was disillusioned with her practice and it was a trip to New York that consequently changed her life. She immediately fell in love with coffee bar concepts and worked closely with her brother, instilling the discipline that came with putting up a now successful coffee chain. She believes that it’s all in the attitude. As long as you can develop the habit for entrepreneurial skills, then you can definitely become a success. And as the world changes, you need to keep up with the trends. Her secret weapon: creativity.

Sahar is truly an original and innovative thinker. Companies from all four corners of the globe seek her advice. And as a business speaker, she has transformed the life of hundreds of individuals. Her bestselling books, ‘Anyone Can Do It – Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table‘ and ‘Switched On‘, teach people how to celebrate failure and transform people into valued employees. In her most recent book ‘Start Up Forever’, Sahar uses a decade of experience working for large corporations and focusses on how within such structures, employees can be more entrepreneurial. She is described as a change agent who is able with simple advice to unlock the start up culture within established companies.

When you run into problems. What do you do? Competitors seem way ahead of the race. This is what makes Sahar Hashemi a strong business speaker. Truly inspirational and revolutionary, Sahar has proven to everyone just how much you can achieve with a can-do attitude.

Sahar speaks at conferences, companies and at business schools across Europe.

A good overview of Sahar speaking can be seen at the 2017 Nordic Business Forum in Stockholm. Sahar Hashemi – Nordic Business Forum, 2017

Keynote Example: ‘The 10 Shifts’

“HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR IN LARGE ORGANISATIONS? THIS IS A QUESTION TO WHICH SAHAR HASHEMI PROVIDES A STRAIGHTFORWARD SOLUTION. HER 10 “SHIFTS” ARE SIMPLE, DAY-TO-DAY APPROACHES TO EVERYDAY WORK WITH AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET. THESE LESSONS ARE EASY TO UNDERSTAND (THERE’S NO HAVING TO MEMORISE COMPLEX MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS)” – THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH

1 DON’T DEPERSONALIZE CUSTOMERS
BECOME THEM INSTEAD

2 DON’T SIT AT YOUR DESK
GET OUT

3 DON’T BE ‘TOO BUSY’
ATTACK BUREAUCRACY

4 DON’T LET YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE BLIND YOU
LET GO OF WHAT YOU KNOW

5 DON’T SUFFOCATE CURIOSITY
BE A BIG KID

6 DON’T BUY INTO FAIRY TALE ROMANCE OF THE ‘BIG IDEA’
ACT ON THE SMALL EVERY DAY IDEAS

7 DON’T LET PERFECTIONISM SLOW YOU DOWN
FORCE THE DISCIPLINE OF BOOTSTRAPPING

8 DON’T BE SCARED OF FAILURE
ENCOURAGE IT

9 DON’T THINK OF A “NO” AS A STOP SIGN
THINK OF IT AS A BADGE OF HONOUR

10 DON’T PUT A WORK FACE ON
BE 100% YOURSELF