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

Challenger Chats is back with another deep dive into the world of game-changing brands! This time, we sit down with Steve Grocutt, founder of Cornish Bakery, to uncover the incredible story behind one of the UK’s fastest-growing bakery brands.

With a firm belief that “Bakery is the new Coffee Shop”, Steve has built a business that has redefined what a bakery is, does and can be. Cornish Bakery is a modern bakery creating beautiful, welcoming, community spaces where people can relax, connect, and enjoy exceptional, freshly made food and coffee. 

From its humble beginnings in Mevagissey, Cornish Bakery is growing fast with a current trading estate of 66 stores and counting, in bustling tourist hotspots, charming market towns, and vibrant city centres across the country. Its formula? Authenticity, quality, and a deep understanding of what today’s customers want.

Steve shares his journey - his bold vision, the lessons learned along the way, and what it takes to build a standout hospitality brand that is shaking things up on the high street. In this episode we explore:

✅ The origins of Cornish Bakery and what inspired Steve to start
✅ The challenges of scaling while maintaining quality and culture
✅ The secret ingredient behind Cornish Bakery’s success 

✅ How he dealt with letting go of the reins and transitioning from ‘Founder CEO’ to ‘Founder Investor’
✅ What’s next for the brand and its continued expansion 

If you’re passionate about entrepreneurship, hospitality, or simply love a great brand and founder story, this episode is not to be missed! 

Links:

Fairgame: https://thecornishbakery.com/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

 
Our fantastic show producer is Fina Charleson. Find out more about her work at https://www.finacharleson.com

Roll up, roll up to the latest instalment of Challenger Chats, the podcast that showcases the movers and shakers behind the UK's best and brightest Challenger Brands. We’ve made it to the very satisfyingly numbered Episode 2, of Season 2…

In the hot seat is none other than Richard Hilton. A brandophile through and through, he started his career by hawking his CV to the advertising agencies on New York’s Madison Avenue, eventually returning to the UK to found ground-breaking gym brand Gymbox, followed by one of London’s busiest competitive socialising venues Fairgame. Richard has raised debt, mezzanine and equity finance, bought out his investors (twice!) with the war scars to back it up. We have a wide ranging chat covering the worlds of brand marketing, entrepreneurship, fundraising and Richard’s development as a CEO and leader.

Dial up the volume, kick back and enjoy!

Links:

Fairgame: https://www.wearefairgame.com/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

 
Our fantastic show producer is Fina Charleson. Find out more about her work at https://www.finacharleson.com

Season II of Challenger Chats has officially landed! A collection of raw, unfiltered conversations with the movers and shakers behind the UK's best and brightest Challenger Brands.

Kicking off Season II in style, we’re thrilled to have Rod McKie in the hot seat - one of the UK’s most experienced hospitality operators with a resume that reads like a who’s who of the hospitality world – cutting his teeth at TGI Friday’s, subsequently working alongside industry legend Julian Metcalfe at Pret a Manger and then spending 14 years at the helm of Welcome Break. For the past decade he’s shared his experience and insights with several of the UK’s hottest hospitality brands, either as non-exec director or Chair, working with the likes of Megan’s, Sticks ‘n’Sushi, rhubarb and New World Trading Company.

So, if you’re an aspiring non exec, or just want to listen to a captivating story, then you don’t want to miss this one.

Dial up the volume, kick back and enjoy!

Links:

Megan’s: https://megans.co.uk/

New World Trading Company: https://nwtc.uk.com/

Sticks‘n’Sushi: https://sticksnsushi.com/

Welcome Break: https://www.welcomebreak.co.uk/

Rhubarb Hospitality Collection: https://rhchospitality.com/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

 
Our fantastic show producer is Fina Charleson. Find out more about her work at https://www.finacharleson.com

In this seventh episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Nisha Katona MBE, Founder and CEO of one of the country’s hottest Challenger Brands - Mowgli.  

After a 20 year career as a Barrister, Nisha took a leap of faith, a massive career pivot and threw her hat in the hospitality ring with the opening of her first Mowgli restaurant in Liverpool. Mowgli is now one of the UK’s fastest growing restaurant brands, with a current stable of 18 sites across the country.

Nisha is also a successful author of multiple bestselling recipe books, she sits on the Government’s Hospitality Council and has a blossoming broadcast career, having most recently joined the Great British Menu family as a judge on the upcoming series. 

In this chat we talk through Mowgli’s back story as a brand that was built utilising the power of social media, Nisha’s fundraising journey and building a structure post-investment that allows CEOs and founders to thrive, and how our recipes are so prescribed and specced, that it’s like creating paracetamol. 

Dial up the volume, kick back and enjoy!

Links:

Mowgli: https://www.mowglistreetfood.com/

Nisha: https://nishakatona.com/

Socials:

Mowgli on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mowglistreetfood/

Mowgli on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mowglistreetfood/

Mowgli on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mowglistfood

Nisha on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/nishakatona

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

 
Our fantastic show producer is Fina Charleson. Find out more about her work at https://www.finacharleson.com

In this sixth episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Joanne Mathews, Founder and CEO of Ten Health & Fitness. 

Ten is a wellness business that bridges the gap between the medical community and fitness markets. It was instrumental in pioneering the London boutique fitness sector back when it launched in 2007 and has since grown into the UK’s largest provider of Dynamic Reformer Pilates (think traditional pilates but taken to the next level) and has a fast growing clinically-led wellness offering.

They’ve now launched a live stream and on demand fitness & wellness platform, and in 2019 raised equity capital from Foresight to drive their expansion.

In this fascinating chat we talk through the origins of Ten as a result of an unfortunate but ultimately happy accident, Jo’s fundraising journey, and how it’s made her a more effective leader, and take a deep dive into the current state of the fitness and wellness sector.

Links:

Ten: https://www.ten.co.uk/

Socials:

Ten on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenhealthfitness/

Ten on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenHealthFitness

Ten on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TenHealthFit

Ten on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tenhealthfitness/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

In this fifth episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Noam Bar, co-founder of Ottolenghi. 
 
Noam, along with co-founders Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (later joined by Cornelia Staeubli), launched their first site in Notting Hill back in 2002. They now have a collection of critically acclaimed Ottolenghi delis and two iconic restaurants in London; NOPI in the West End and ROVI in Fitzrovia. 
   
The brand is best known internationally for its collection of hugely popular cookbooks which challenged the way that home chefs and critics alike thought about plant based cooking. It also has a growing range of ambient and chilled products for retail, and has more recently branched out into tablewares, continuing its evolution into a globally recognised lifestyle brand with its own unique, aspirational aesthetic. 
   
Noam has been an integral part of the Ottolenghi story since its inception, and leads the group’s strategic development. In this chat we discuss Noam’s background including his early entrepreneurial foray into the telecoms sector, his subsequent pivot into food, the risks and opportunities of brand extension, how Noam and the team have tackled the challenges triggered by the Covid crisis and what’s coming next for this iconic Challenger brand. 

Links:

Ottolenghi: https://ottolenghi.co.uk/

Socials:

Ottolenghi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ottolenghi/

Ottolenghi on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OttolenghiUK/

Ottolenghi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ottolenghi

Ottolenghi on Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ottolenghi/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z

In this fourth episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Robin Rowland OBE, Operating Partner at investment fund TriSpan, Chair of Challenger hospitality brands Rosa’s Thai and Thunderbird Chicken and board member at Caffe Nero, Fuller’s and UKHospitality. This podcast is slightly different from our other podcasts. Usually we interview the founders and operators behind our favourite Challenger Brands. And whilst Robin is no longer an operator he is one of the key people behind TriSpan, which is itself a Challenger Brand in the world of hospitality investing.

A true legend in hospitality circles, this man knows what it takes to build, grow and sell Challenger Brands. His illustrious career spans growing niche challenger brands in new categories, to working with some of the most recognised household names in UK food and drink. In this conversation we touch on differences between the US and UK’s dining out landscapes, how he has found the transition to being sat on the other side of the table as an investor, his current take on valuations, and what his Gen-Z kids are teaching him about the future of the UK hospitality sector. 

Links:
   

TriSpan: https://www.trispanllp.com/

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z 

In this third episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Matt Grech-Smith, co-founder and co-CEO of Swingers, one of the pioneers in the world of Competitive Socialising. Swingers takes large venues in city centres and transforms them into immersive experiences, combining “grown up” crazy golf, with amazing cocktails whilst you play and food created by exciting, up and coming restauranteurs. 

With two venues open in Central London and a growing site pipeline in the USA, Matt and his co-founder Jeremy Simmonds raised capital from Cain International in 2018 to fund growth and expansion. We touch on this fundraising story, and also explore the development of the Swingers concept, management's discerning use of technology to complement the guest experience, and how Matt believes Swingers is well suited for US audiences. 

 
Links:
  

Swingers: https://swingers.club/

 
 
Socials
 
Swingers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SwingersLDN/

Swingers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwingersLDN/

Swingers on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwingersLDN

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z 

In this second episode of Challenger Chats our host Adam Spencer is joined by Joan Murphy, co-founder of Frame, a fitness and lifestyle brand that delivers in person group exercise classes from its collection of Central London sites, as well as a recently launched digital fitness solution, streaming over 130 live classes a week to its customers, or "Framers"...

Joan re-wrote the fitness rule book; replacing rigid and long term gym memberships with a more flexible, more accessible, pay as you go format. Allowing its Framers the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of group exercise classes in a feel good, no judgement environment. This lady is on a mission... to put the fun back into fitness.

In 2017 Joan raised capital from Piper, one of the UK’s leading brand-led investors, to drive growth and expansion. We dive into this story which includes our first baby in a boardroom, and explore brand authenticity, maintaining a sense of community with an omnichannel offering and shifting consumer behaviour, fitness and wellbeing needs in a post-Covid world. 

 
Links:
 
Frame: https://moveyourframe.com/

Mumhood: https://mum-hood.com/

 
 
Socials
 
Frame on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moveyourframe/

Joan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanonthemove/

Frame on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moveyourframe

Frame on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoveYourFRAME

Sign up for Tamweel News and Insights: http://eepurl.com/dPXN3z