"A lightbulb went on in my head" - Bobby Haschemi, Coffee Republic
Name: Bobby Haschemi
Company: Coffee Republic
Founded: November 1995
For a nation of tea lovers, the British drink a lot of coffee. Whether it's the growing influence of continental Europe or just a simple change in tastes, research shows that coffee has actually replaced the traditional cup of tea as the nation's favourite drink.
And as ever, where social trends develop, business follows closely behind. To supply the growing demand for quality fresh coffee, a burgeoning sector of coffee bars has emerged - and established itself to the extent that there is now a Starbucks or a Costa Coffee in almost every high street, train station and shopping centre the UK.
Coffee Republic was one of the coffee bar chains to pioneer the market in the mid-nineties. It was founded by Bobby Haschemi, a man who, like all true entrepreneurs, is constantly on the look out for new business ideas. The concept for Coffee Republic was sparked by an idle chat with his sister who had just returned home from a holiday.
"The idea came from the US where my sister was travelling as a tourist in New York. She discovered that there were coffee shops everywhere, a Starbucks on every corner, and while she was there she got hooked on the tall slim cappuccinos they served. When she came back, she told me how much she had liked these places, and commented that there were not any in this country - and a lightbulb went on in my head. We did some research, discovered that people actually drink more coffee than tea in the UK but that there were no outlets serving this market. We had found a niche."
As any businessperson will tell you, the secret to a successful enterprise is to find a gap in the market. Bobby was quick to focus in on where exactly this gap was, and how he was going to fill it.
"What was available in the UK basically wasn't up to standard. To have a good coffee, you had to go to a restaurant, sit down and wait for a waiter to serve you. Alternatively you could go to a sandwich bar where the coffee was invariably poor quality. We therefore found a gap for a 10 minute gourmet coffee experience at an affordable price."
Encouraged by the discovery, Bobby and his sister founded Coffee Republic and opened their first store in Mayfair, London in November 1995. However, it wasn't long before Bobby realised that his business would not remain a single shop operation. Expansion quickly became a core strategy for the business.
"The first store in Mayfair took off pretty quickly and within six months I realised the business was going to work. So we went to the business angel market and raised £600,000 to fund the opening of five more stores."
It is notoriously hard to convince private investors, or business angels, to part with their cash. Bobby is proof, however, that if your business plan is solid enough, they can be a very good source of funding.
"It's supposed to be difficult raising funds from business angels but I didn't find it so. It was a good idea and in the end I received offers for double that amount."
