Available to book
Sahar Hashemi
Transform entrepreneurial culture with Sahar Hashemi, speaker, business innovation expert. Sahar works with organisations to ignite creativity, drive change, and build successful brands, delivering insights as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and OBE recipient.
Sahar Hashemi is a visionary entrepreneur renowned for her ability to transform ideas into impactful brands. With a track record of building three influential businesses, she has consistently demonstrated how to reignite entrepreneurial energy in environments where it has stagnated.
Sahar's journey began with the co-founding of Coffee Republic, the UK’s first US-style coffee chain, which revolutionised the nation’s coffee culture. She further disrupted consumer habits with Skinny Candy, introducing sugar-free treats to the mainstream market.
Currently, Sahar leads Buy Women Built, a movement that is reshaping perceptions of women-built brands. What began as a single tweet during the pandemic has evolved into a powerful community of over 2,000 women-led businesses generating more than £2.5 billion in turnover. Buy Women Built has successfully launched the world’s first women-built aisle on Ocado, showcasing the importance of visibility in driving sales and influencing consumer behaviour. Major retailers, including Whole Foods and QVC, have embraced this initiative, integrating it into their platforms.
Sahar is also an accomplished author, with her book Anyone Can Do It becoming the UK’s second highest-selling entrepreneurship book. Her insights into the challenges of bureaucracy and perfectionism are further explored in Start-Up Forever, a Financial Times Book of the Month, which serves as a guide for leaders to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit within their organisations.
Sahar's contributions to the economy and charity have earned her global recognition, including being named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and receiving an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II.
Sahar’s approach is rooted in powerful storytelling and real-world experience, enabling her to reconnect audiences with their inherent creativity and courage. Sahar inspires action and innovation, making her insights invaluable for anyone looking to drive change.
Topics, sessions and talks
Sahar Hashemi shares how to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset within a large organization. Drawing on her experience building successful businesses, she will explain how to foster agility, innovation, and risk-taking in a corporate environment. Attendees will learn actionable strategies to drive growth and creativity, no matter the size of their company.
In this keynote, Sahar Hashemi demonstrates the importance of leading with agility and resilience in uncertain times. She’ll reveal the mindset that entrepreneurs use to thrive in fast-changing environments and how to apply it to any leadership role. Attendees will learn to navigate change, inspire innovation, and embrace uncertainty as a leadership strength.
Sahar Hashemi uncovers how to break through the barriers of corporate complacency and reignite passion for leadership. She’ll discuss how to shift from a “status quo” mentality to one that fosters creativity and growth. Attendees will leave with the tools to inspire innovation, challenge old systems, and lead with renewed energy.
Sahar Hashemi challenges the common belief that risk is dangerous for business success. Instead, she shows how the real threat lies in staying too comfortable. Attendees will learn how to step out of their comfort zones, embrace smart risks, and make bold decisions that fuel innovation and business growth.
In this empowering talk, Sahar Hashemi reveals the unique strengths women bring to leadership and business. Drawing from her own journey as an entrepreneur, she shares strategies for leveraging these superpowers to create meaningful impact. Attendees will gain confidence and insight into how women can reshape the business world.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Sahar Hashemi, email sahar.hashemi.obe@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Sahar's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Sahar Hashemi draws on her own founding experiences — co-founding Coffee Republic and launching Buy Women Built — to illustrate entrepreneurial principles, grounding each session in first-person business case studies rather than abstract frameworks.
Sahar Hashemi OBE speaks on entrepreneurial mindset in corporate environments, breaking through organisational stagnation, and leading with agility and resilience in times of change. She co-founded Coffee Republic, the UK's first US-style coffee chain, and her book Anyone Can Do It became the UK's second highest-selling entrepreneurship book.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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