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

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