S4: Breaking new ground in business, with Sahar Hashemi OBE, co-founder of Coffee Republic
Conversations of Inspiration
Holly Tucker MBE
5.0 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2019
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Launched in 1995, Sahar co-founded Coffee Republic alongside her brother Bobby, becoming the UK's first coffee bar. Scaling her business up to 110 coffee shops within 5 years, Sahar’s success was astounding.
After struggling to get investment because the bank managers stated that Britain was a nation of tea drinkers, Sahar's determination paid off and saw Coffee Republic at the forefront of coffee culture, changing the way Britain’s consume forever.
In this enlightening founder to founder conversation, Sahar shares her experiences of scaling a business, her battles with the imposter syndrome, and how selling her business was the most heartbreaking,
painful moment of her life.
Enjoying listening to these unfiltered chats? It's worth following Holly Tucker MBE and Holly & Co on Instagram, and subscribing to our weekly newsletter on our website, where Holly downloads her thoughts, and exclusively shares small business finds and topical, 'ungoogleable' business advice.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week on Conversations of Inspiration, I'm chatting to Sahah Hashimi, OBE, founder of Coffey Republic. |
| 0:07.0 | Sahar co-founded her business alongside her brother Bobby in 1995 and Coffee Republic was extraordinarily the UK's first |
| 0:16.6 | coffee bar scaling her business from one to 110 coffee shops within five years |
| 0:22.4 | Sahar's success was astounding. 110 coffee shops within five years. |
| 0:23.0 | Sahar's success was astounding. |
| 0:25.2 | Considering she opened her business nearly 25 years ago, |
| 0:29.2 | before the internet was readily available, |
| 0:31.4 | before smartphones or social media existed and three years |
| 0:35.6 | before Starbucks had come to the UK. I had the most enlightening, honest and |
| 0:40.9 | soulful founder to found a conversation with Sahar. |
| 0:44.3 | Talking about her experiences of scaling a business, |
| 0:47.6 | her battles with the imposter syndrome and how selling her business |
| 0:52.1 | was the most heartbreaking, painful moment of her life. |
| 0:56.0 | It's a chap that's going to stay with me forever. |
| 0:58.6 | Connecting with her on so many levels, Sahar is a true entrepreneur, someone determined and passionate and |
| 1:05.7 | committed to changing the world for the better through business. Let your eyelids. |
| 1:13.0 | I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to bring your frown. |
| 1:17.0 | I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to conversations of inspiration. |
| 1:21.0 | Back in 2006 I found it not on the high street for my kitchen table and since |
| 1:26.6 | then I've gone on to launch Holly and Co. I'm the UK Ambassador of Creative Small Businesses and I believe that having a business doing what you love |
| 1:35.5 | is the key to a happy fulfilled life. My dream is to help everybody start theirs. |
| 1:41.7 | I'm here to offer advice, inspiration, wisdom and encouragement. |
... |
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