Challenger Chats Episode #11 with Bobby Hashemi

Bobby Hashemi: Coffee Republic, Pizza Union, and the case for going slow Challenger Chats is back with a vengeance🔥! Trust us when we say, this one is a cracker (or more like a spicy diavolo)... as we sit down with Bobby Hashemi, founder of Pizza Union, one of London's most-loved pizza brands 🍕 and co-founder of Coffee Republic ☕, the brand that helped kickstart the UK's coffee shop revolution in the 90s.. From leaving Lehman Brothers to co-founding and subsequently floating Coffee Republic, then crossing over to private equity, Bobby has been there, done that, and has got the t-shirt. Now, twelve years into building Pizza Union, his philosophy has shifted - he's convinced that slowness, not speed, is the real founder superpower. Bobby shares his journey - the highs, the hard-won lessons, and why doing it in a more considered way the second time round means doing it better. Guest: Bobby Hashemi, Founder, Pizza Union  Host: Adam Spencer, Tamweel Capital 🔑 Key takeaways 🐢 Slow is a superpower. Bobby's single biggest lesson from doing this twice: the ability to say no, and to grow only as fast as the business needs to, beats chasing scale for its own sake. 🍕 Simplicity is the moat. Pizza Union sells 15 pizzas and three salads — full stop. That focus is what lets it undercut the market on price without cutting quality. 🧑‍💼 Founders aren't always managers. Bobby's candid on this: the skills that build a business aren't the same skills that run one, and that's fine. 📍 Site selection is the real risk. Not financing, not marketing — it's picking the right four walls. Bobby's rule of thumb: could the site plausibly do 10x its annual rent in sales? 🤖 AI is a thought partner, not (yet) an operator. Useful for a lean, founder-led business like his; he's happy to let bigger players test kiosks and AI ordering first. ❤️ Success looks different at 55 than at 35. Financial milestones gave way to a simpler measure: health, honesty, and doing work he loves. ⏱️ Chapter timestamps 01:14 | 🇮🇷 Growing up in Iran, and a smuggled Big Mac 04:56 | 💡 The real "lightbulb moment" — and starting Coffee Republic 07:31 | ☕ The first site nearly flops (and a lucky break next to Vogue House) 08:40 | 👫 Building the business with his sister, Sahar 12:23 | 📸 Fame, scrutiny, and life as a public-company founder 15:21 | 🔁 Crossing over to private equity with Luke Johnson 19:32 | 🎯 Advice for founders considering private equity 21:15 | 🍕 Where the idea for Pizza Union came from 25:14 | ❓ Why pizza, and why now 26:15 | 💰 Keeping prices low without cutting quality 27:58 | 🛎️ The case for counter service 29:30 | 🔄 Doing it again: more cautious, or more confident? 31:56 | 🐂 Growth discipline vs. speed — the In-N-Out Burger playbook 36:38 | 🗺️ Site selection: the real make-or-break decision 40:48 | 📊 The KPIs Bobby actually watches 44:24 | 🤖 Where AI fits into the business today 49:43 | 😅 The hardest part of being a founder-CEO 52:44 | 🔮 Will Pizza Union still look the same in 20 years? 54:56 | 🧭 The long-term plan for Pizza Union  56:12 | 🌙 What keeps him up at night 57:37 | 🐢 The best advice he's been given: "slowness is a superpower" 59:04 | ⚡ Quick-fire round 1:03:09 | 🌟 Has his definition of success changed? 1:04:08 | 🔜 What's next for Bobby and Pizza Union Links:   Our fantastic show producer is Fina Charleson. Find out more about her work at https://www.finacharleson.com Pizza Union: https://www.pizzaunion.com/     Bobby Hashemi: http://www.unionven.com/people.html Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z