Sahar Hashemi, May 2014.

Sahar Hashemi OBE (born 1967) is a British businesswoman, best known as the co-founder of the coffee chain Coffee Republic and confectionery brand Skinny Candy. She recently co-chaired the UK government Scale Up Taskforce[1] shaping government policy towards growing SMEs. She currently sits on the board of the Scale Up Institute. and the advisory board of the ECB HUNDRED Cricket Competition and Change Please Coffee, a social enterprise that trains and hires homeless people to run coffee bars. 

In 2022 she launched Buy Women Built[2][3] a campaign to bring consumer recognition to women built brands in the UK.  She was a judge at the 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.[4]

Early life and career

Sahar Hashemi attended City of London School for Girls, obtaining a corporation exhibition scholarship. She studied law at the University of Bristol. Upon graduation, Hashemi trained and qualified as a solicitor with Frere Cholmeley Bischoff's (a 200-year-old firm in Lincoln's Inn Fields that folded in 1998).[5][6]

Coffee Republic

Alongside brother Bobby, Hashemi developed and co-founded Coffee Republic, the UK's first US-style coffee bar chain. The first site opened on South Molton Street in 1995. The group was listed on AIM in 1998 by reversing into Arion Properties. Coffee Republic switched from AIM to the full list in July 2000. The chain had opened 108 stores by 2001, when Hashemi left the firm to write Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table.

Books

Start Up Forever

Published in 2019 by Troubador Publishing,[7] Start Up Forever (ISBN 978-1789016345) is the culmination of her work speaking to 400 organisations about the actionable, practical steps that can bring out anyone’s inner entrepreneur. It was named The Financial Times Best Business Book of the Month in March 2019.[8]

Anyone Can Do It

Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons,[9] Anyone Can Do It (ISBN 978-1841127651) was written jointly by Sahar and Bobby Hashemi and describes the journey of turning Coffee Republic from an idea into a high street brand. The book is aimed at budding entrepreneurs. The authors seek to dispel the idea that entrepreneurs are inherently "special" people.

The book has been translated into six languages. It reached number 1 on the Amazon business chart and gathered endorsements from the DTI, The Princes Trust and Institute of Directors.

Skinny Candy

In 2005, Hashemi launched confectionery brand Skinny Candy, producing low-fat sweets and chocolates. The range was distributed in Coffee Republic, Harvey Nichols,[10] Selfridges, Top Shop, Julian Graves and Waitrose. In 2007, Hashemi sold 50% of Skinny Candy to Glisten Plc.[11]

Charity work

Hashemi is a supporter of The Princes Trust, donating a portion of royalties of Anyone Can Do It to the youth charity. She sits on the NSPCC Corporate Development Board and is a Patron of Child Bereavement UK.[12] She fronted a government campaign in 2004 for Skills for Business to encourage employers to develop staff skills.[13]

Awards and recognition

She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to the UK economy and to charity.[14] She has been named on various power lists, including the Independent on Sunday.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Margot James launches Scale-Up Taskforce to identify barriers to small business growth". GOV.UK. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Evans, Peter. "Wake up and smell the start-ups". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Silverman, Rosa (28 February 2022). "More women are starting businesses than men – this is cultural progress that we must support". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Wejo founder named 'Disruptor' at EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards | TheBusinessDesk.com". North West. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Wallach, Sharon (19 February 1993). "Law: Something even bigger in the City: Frere Cholmeley and Bischoff are joining forces in May – UK, News". The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  6. ↑ Lawyer, The (5 December 1998). "Freres:an offer it could not refuse – Legal News and Jobs – Advancing the business of law". The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Start Up Forever – Troubador Book Publishing". troubador.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Hill, Andrew; Jacobs, Emma; Conboye, Janina (6 March 2019). "FT business books of the month: March edition". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Wiley::Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic from Our Kitchen Table 57 – Real Life Laws on Entrepreneurship". Eu.wiley.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  10. ↑ "HN Edit – Latest Fashion News & Trends, Health & Beauty, Food". Harveynichols.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Glisten moves into healthier confectionery market". Confectionerynews.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  12. ↑ "Child Bereavement UK :: Patrons". Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "CAMPAIGN NEWS: The Government sexes up skills – B2B Marketing News". B2bm.biz. 7 November 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "No. 60173". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 2012. p. 10.
  15. 1 2 "The 20 most powerful women in Britain under the age of 35 – Home News, UK". The Independent. London. 27 April 2003. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  16. ↑ "Sahar Hashemi – Personally Speaking Bureau". Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Search leadership, business and management news and news analysis from MT and Management Today magazine". Managementtoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
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