Sahar Hashemi is a successful business woman who co-founded the coffee chain Coffee Republic with her brother Bobby Hashemi and low calorie sweets brand Skinny Candy. Sahar left Coffee Republic in 2001 to write bestselling book: “Anyone Can do It” (ISBN 1-84112-579-2).[1] She is a regular lecturer around the world on topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship.
Sahar Hashemi has been named one of the Most Influential Women in Britain by the Daily Mail, Independent on Sunday [2] and Management Today.
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Sahar attended City of London School for Girls and obtained the corporation exhibition scholarship. She went on to read Law at the University of Bristol where she graduated with a LLB honours. In 2006, Sahar was awarded an Enterprise Roll of Honour [3] from the University.
On graduating, Sahar trained and qualified as a solicitor with Frere Cholmeley [4] in Lincoln’s Inn fields. Upon discovering a gap in the market for coffee drinks, Sahar left her job in 1994. She realised that unlike the US and much of Europe, the UK’s caffeine cravings weren’t being satisfied.
Sahar developed and co-founded the Coffee Republic, UK's first US style coffee bar chain in the United Kingdom with her brother, Bobby Hashemi and built it into one of the UK's most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30 million. The first site opened on South Molton Street in 1995.
The siblings were able to make Coffee Republic one of the main players in the 'coffee revolution' that transformed a nation of tea drinkers into one obsessed with fancy coffees.[5] By 2001, there were over 100 stores around the UK. Sahar left Coffee Republic in 2001 to write a book called ‘Anyone Can Do It - Building Coffee Republic from our Kitchen table’.
Anyone Can Do It was published in 2003 and tells the story of the high street coffee chain: Coffee Republic. The book is 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 and those starting up in business. The book is published by Wiley Publishing [6] and has been translated into six languages. ‘Anyone Can Do It’ reached number 1 on the Amazon business chart. The book has also been endorsed by the DTI, The Princes Trust and Institute of Directors.
In 2005, Sahar launched Skinny Candy, guilt-free confectionery brand [2]. This was based upon the lack of low-fat sweets and chocolates aimed at the mass market. The range was initially distributed in Coffee Republic and then Harvey Nichols [7] and is available across many big department store chains throughout the UK such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Top Shop, Julian Graves, Waitrose and most Coffee Republic stores.
In 2007, Sahar sold 50% of Skinny Candy to Glisten Plc. [8]
Most recently, Sahar become involved in Corporate for Crisis which helps companies design and implement social strategies around their business in areas of the world in crisis, or regions where there has been conflict. It enables companies to work at a humanitarian level that benefit both them and the local community.[9]
In addition, Sahar is a supporter of The Princes Trust and donates part of the royalties of 'Anyone Can Do It' to the trust. Sahar sits on the NSPCC Corporate Development Board and is a Patron of the Child Bereavement Charity.
Sahar fronted a government campaign in 2004 for Skills for Business to encourage employers to develop staff skills. [10]
Sahar is a regular lecturer and keynote speaker [12] for topics around the world in the UK, Europe and the Middle East for clients such as Microsoft and Accenture. Topics include:
Sahar is a speaker ambassador for The Princes Trust and has spoken as keynote speaker at various high profile events including Institute of Directors Women’s Summit, Wall Street Journal Europe Summit and Enterprise 100, IAA World Congress, Global Leadership Forum Malaysia.
http://www.fmwf.com/media-type/news/2010/05/hashemi-escapes-her-comfort-zone/