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Pinky Cole Freestyles 🔥🔥🔥 + Gives Business Tips From Her $100 Million Valuation of Slutty Vegan
Nov 17, 2022
Business mogul Pinky Cole is continuing to build her empire. The Slutty Vegan brand debuted in 2018 in Atlanta and took the city by storm with daily lines out the door and down the block. And five years later Cole built a $100 million business.
Now as the founder of the Slutty Vegan, Bar Vegan, and The Pinky Cole Foundation is venturing off into new lanes. She is taking her very first cookbook on tour. “Eat Plants, B*tch,” features 91 vegan recipes. The recipes include Jamaican dishes from Cole’s childhood, tapas, southern comfort food, and tons of tips and tricks for vegan cooking.
Cole stopped by Sway In The Morning to talk about all of her ventures, gives some business tips and kicks some bars.
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0:00
Yo, he had to make mention of it
0:05
Slutty Vegan ain't just a word, it's a movement. Facts. We've been supporting this for years now
0:12
Facts. There's a queen at the head of the helm. Facts. And she's here with us today
0:18
Slutty Vegan, man, you gotta understand, it's just, to me, it represents medicine to our community
0:24
What this restaurant, this plant-based restaurant has been all about. But not only that, from it's just teaching people how to live correctly by eating correctly
0:32
I think is one of the most important things we have to acknowledge in our community. Education, health, you know, family, faith, and what we put in our bodies is extremely important
0:43
So I want to say salute to the founder of Slutty Vegan for making that happen
0:48
Was on the Restaurant Hospitality 2021 power list. Give a big round of applause for that
0:53
Forbes Next 1000. Give her a big round of applause for that. Let's go, Hugh. Entrepreneur Magazine, Top 100 Powerful Women in Business
0:59
Give her a big round of applause for that. LA Wire Influencer Women of 2020
1:03
Give her a big round of applause for that. And listen to Straight Up Our Sister
1:07
Please welcome her to the show, the one and only Pinky Cole. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
1:14
Cover Essence Magazine, give her a round of applause for that. Cover Inc. Magazine for October Issue, give her a round of applause for that
1:23
Company worth $100 million, give her a round of applause for that. What's up
1:28
Fundraising of $25 million. Give it right. Listen. You better. I better, man
1:34
Come on. You know what's so crazy? I never give myself flowers, but today I'm going to give myself some flowers
1:39
You better do it. Yeah, man. Like, I've been through the mud. Yes, you have
1:44
I'm talking about mud. Like, so to be here in this moment, being present, to have all of these accolades, like, I don't take that shit for granted
1:52
You shouldn't. You shouldn't. You've been through the mud, Pinky Colbert. but you living in the light right now, damn it
1:58
Shout out to your parents. You're Jamaican descent. I am. Ja Rastafari
2:06
Yes, and if anybody knows anything about growing up in a Jamaican household, it's definitely different
2:11
You cannot have any dishes in the sink. You cannot. You got to make sure that the house is clean
2:15
and you don't beg, borrow, steal from nobody. Nobody. I like that
2:20
Yes. So life was good growing up. Pinky cold. But slutty vegan, when it first happened
2:25
people just kind of before they even knew what it was they reacted
2:29
to the name. Where did the thought come from? Where did the thought to start this plant
2:35
based restaurant come from? For the people who don't know me I have been
2:39
vegan for a very long time so I got to go all the way back and you know
2:43
you were part of that back story right? So I had a restaurant back in Harlem
2:47
and it was called Pinky's Jamaican and American Restaurant. 145th between 7th and 8th
2:53
and that was my first experience having a restaurant. I didn't know the first thing about business
2:59
I just knew that I liked to run my mouth and I could do a little thing. And I had lines down the block
3:04
People came, but I had a grease fire. Everything caught on fire, and I had to walk away from everything
3:10
which propelled me to get into an opportunity to work on a TV show
3:14
with the OWN Network as a casting director. For who? Iyanla Fixed My Life, the OWN Network
3:19
Yeah. Yeah. And let me tell you how the universe work, y'all
3:24
Sometimes you got to go through the fire so that you can experience some stuff that may feel bad
3:29
But it's really God just setting you up for something really better. Because when I got on the show, they like, Pinky, we want you to go to Atlanta and work for three months on the show
3:37
I'm like, cool. And when I got to Atlanta, I was smoking some medicinal marijuana
3:41
Okay. Therapy. And I'm not a smoker. But, like, that moment was very crucial for me because Slutty Vegan came out of nowhere
3:50
It was like a light bulb idea. No business plan. I didn't have no structure, no strategy, no nothing
3:56
I just had a lot of passion and a good idea. And then I went to Google and university, Google and YouTube university, and literally everything went up from there
4:05
So I figured as a television producer, if I can merge the two most pleasurable experiences in life, and that's sex and food, then I could get people to pay attention
4:14
Absolutely. And that's exactly what they did. They paid attention. They paid attention. And still paying attention
4:19
Slutty vegan. Let's go. Come on. I love it. Come on. Did you have issues or challenges alluring our people, our community, to actually want to eat plant-based food
4:36
You know, I didn't. What's interesting in this whole situation is when I first started Slutty Vegan, there were other reputable vegan restaurants in Atlanta
4:44
So shout out to y'all. But when I started this concept, I wasn't selling food. Right
4:49
So you may see me selling burgers, pies, and fries, but it's more than that. It's an experience
4:54
I want when you come to Slutty Vegan, it feels like King's Dominion. It feels like an amusement park, Six Flags
5:00
So when you walk through the door, you ain't even realizing that you were at a vegan restaurant. So now all the people, especially our people, like, we want to see what the hype is about
5:08
We want to come to this restaurant. We want to see if it's worth what everybody's talking about
5:12
And it was worth what everybody was talking about. The food was excellent. And as a result of that, we started having lines down the block
5:19
four years later we still have lines down the block because we're selling and
5:23
I love the am we're selling an experience and people tap into not only
5:29
the experience but the community aspect because we do so much philanthropic
5:33
efforts in the community absolutely and I want to talk about that but I also want to know cuz you got a hundred million dollar evaluation now Right And then you did some funding initially before that How do you go about getting funding and then getting that that evaluation for people who want to learn how to get into that realm of business
5:52
OK, so I'm specifically talking to entrepreneurs that don't know the first thing about equity, about raising money, investments
6:00
That was me once upon a time. I'm like, what? What is a safe note? Investments, equity, conversion
6:05
I don't know what y'all talking about. I just want to sell a product and like make people happy. But then I realized as a business owner and entrepreneur, I had to learn that
6:13
So what I learned along this journey is you have to build something so irresistible that people can't help but to knock on your door
6:20
I want to throw money at you like a stripper. Right. Right. I never had to ask for no money
6:24
There were people like Pinky. We love what you're doing. We want to be a part of what you got going on
6:29
So how can we give you this money? I didn't have to ask nobody for nothing
6:33
So you need to keep your eyes on the prize and focus on the consumer
6:37
Focus on what you're selling. Focus on the community. And then all of the people will be lined up at your feet. Yes
6:44
Trying to give you money. And then you have the option to say no. Do y'all know what it feels like to say no to millions
6:50
No, no, we don't. I do sure. I do. Heather does. I'm a billionaire
6:56
My bad. Listen, I like that mindset. I'm a billionaire too. I ain't in a bank yet, but I'm a billionaire
7:01
It's age billy. Come on. Come on. But literally, when I say that, what I mean is I have options now because I have been so
7:08
strategic and dedicated in my approach to building a billion dollar brand
7:12
Let's go. So because I'm building a billion dollar brand, people can feel that
7:16
They can taste that. They want to be a part of that. And because they want to be a part of that, they're like, hello, can we talk to you
7:23
Can we sit down? Can we take you to lunch? And that's exactly how it happened. How do you get prepared for that
7:28
See, I've dealt with, we've all dealt with money on different levels. And as the money grows, how you deal with it has to expand as well
7:34
Did you get an accounting team? Did you get a financial advisor? Did you learn it yourself
7:39
Once that evaluation happened, once you got that funding, how did you manage it
7:43
So there's this model that I live by that when you stay ready, you ain't never got to get ready
7:48
You better say it. So before I even got my funding, I had an accountant
7:51
I had a lawyer who had us trademarks all over the country
7:55
So we were already prepared. I had my financial advisor. I had people on the ground who knew, okay, this is what we're going to do when the money comes in
8:03
So we started hiring C-suite executives. I'd be lying if I sat here and said that I did all of this by myself
8:09
Right? I don't do this by myself. But what I do really good at is hiring people that are smarter than me, that know more than me, that can teach me a thing
8:17
It's like I'm paying somebody else for education, and that's exactly what I do
8:22
So now that we got the money, we're hitting the ground running. You see it with Brooklyn. Brooklyn
8:25
You see it with Harlem. Harlem. You see it with Birmingham. Birmingham. And all the other locations that were all everywhere
8:32
Slutty V. It's world domination. Do we got one in, do we, you notice I said we
8:36
Do we have a slutty vegan in Oakland yet? You know what's funny
8:39
I did a pop-up in Oakland and brought out like 1,500 people
8:44
Like two years ago. I'm coming. Let's go. I'm coming. You need a slutty vegan ambassador for Oakland
8:50
I'm here for you. Let's do it. I'm dead ass ass. And I want y'all to know that it's not just slutty vegan that I own
8:56
I also own a very popular bar in Atlanta called Bar Vegan. So when you go to Atlanta, I got two multi-million dollar companies that are booming
9:04
And I'm saying that humbly because I've worked very hard. And I don't know if you know my backstory, but my dad did 22 years in prison
9:12
Right? My mother, I've seen her work multiple jobs. So to come from where I come from
9:18
To end up like this And I'm nowhere near where I want to be Like that ain't nothing but the grace of God
9:23
Come on Talk about Entrepreneurs Anonymous What's that? Entrepreneurs Anonymous Is really a safe space for entrepreneurs
9:32
So I started my foundation Called the Pinky Cole Foundation In 2019
9:37
And it literally was a way to just formalize me Wanting to help people I'm the girl that like if I see a homeless person
9:42
I feel like that's God talking to me And if I don't help them And God is like, listen, I gave you a test and you didn't pass it
9:47
Right. So I created this foundation because I wanted to help bridge that generational wealth gap
9:53
So we've done so much. So we've partnered with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide jobs for ex-offenders
10:00
We've paid the balances of college students so that they could graduate. Just recently, I provided LLCs to the entire graduating class of Clark Atlanta University
10:08
Shout out to my alma mater. Yes. So that they can jumpstart their pathway to entrepreneurship
10:13
So you pay for their LLC. Yes, I partnered with Varo Bank and we paid for every single LLC
10:20
Every single LLC. Do you know what I would do if somebody gave me an LLC when I was graduating
10:25
Come on. So it's not about, and I'm not saying that you don't get a nine to five
10:29
because if you want to work for somebody else, that's fine, but still have your hustle
10:33
You can put your cell phone in your LLC. You can protect your assets through your LLC
10:38
And I wanted people to understand and get that level of education that I had to learn on my own
10:43
So to be able to give them a jump start now, pass, go collect 200, and they don't have to go slow because they see me and I'm walking so that they can run
10:52
Yes. It's a benefit for everybody. And I know out of those 800 and however many students graduated, at least 300 of them are going to create multimillion dollar companies
11:02
And that makes me feel good that I did something great. Wow. Thank you. Pinky Cole
11:07
You are amazing. Come on, man. The Pinky Cole Foundation. Go online
11:12
I didn even tell you about Entrepreneurs Anonymous So Entrepreneurs Anonymous is basically a space to learn about financial literacy and for entrepreneurs they just need to vent right as an entrepreneur like
11:24
there's not many people that i can talk to about what i go through in my business so this is that
11:28
space to do that so if you are entrepreneur you come into this space you can cry you can laugh
11:33
you can both you can go you could do all of the things that you want to do and it's a safe space
11:37
no judgment that's what entrepreneurs come on and you can learn learn the juvenile justice program
11:43
You're in partnership with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, FRESH, which is Focusing Resources Effectively to Sustain Hope, which is a youth initiative
11:55
Why was that important? Because of your father's background? It was important because I grew up in the prison system
12:00
Okay. Do y'all know what I mean when I say that? When somebody, well, I have an idea, but tell us what you mean
12:06
Every year of my life, I would go for holidays and I had to get wandered down
12:12
like I felt like a spectacle right and I had to sit at this around six inch table and after two
12:18
hours when you hear that buzzer you know what time it is it's time to go right and I got used to that
12:23
so in my mind I'm like this is not my way of life this cannot be my way of living so I understand
12:29
what it feels like even though I wasn't physically behind bars I know what it feels like not to ever
12:34
be on American soil with my dad so I have a soft spot for people who make mistakes so the juvenile
12:40
justice program, it was a way to say, okay, all right, you made a mistake, but that doesn't define
12:45
who you are. You are not a result of your circumstance. And I'm going to give you the
12:50
opportunity at my place of business to get it right. Now it's up to you to take it to the next
12:54
level and fly and soar. And if you don't, at least I say that I tried. And the program has been so
13:00
successful. Shout out to Christian, who was one of the members in the program. He got murdered to
13:06
gun violence after I gave him an opportunity working at Slutty Vegan. And at that moment, I knew that like I have a mission to really help people in a different
13:14
kind of way. Like all of this is good. The interviews are great. The accolades is great
13:18
The money is great. But at the end of the day, if I'm not helping people, if I'm not making people be better
13:23
and giving them a safe space to be themselves, none of this mean nothing to me at all
13:28
You know what I'm saying? So like I'm in that kind of vibe in that kind of moment
13:32
And I like to call myself a hood politician. Right. And unfortunately, you know, what happened yesterday
13:37
But, you know, I like to call myself that because I ain't got to be a politician to do the work
13:43
You know what I mean? And I've been doing the work for a long time, even before Slutty Vegan
13:47
Like, I've been that. I've been doing that. I love you, Pinky Cole. You are amazing
13:51
You are a leader. You are a natural-born leader. We got Carlos on the line from North Carolina
13:56
What up, Carlos? Hey, Carlos. Man, what's happening, man? I love this energy, man
14:02
Like, Pinky, man. And one thing that they didn't say, right, and I can tell from your diction that you've got to be from Baltimore
14:10
I am from Baltimore. I hear that. I'm from Virginia originally, right, so I know the DMV
14:17
I can tell with somebody, but I appreciate your passion. You can tell you're genuine, right
14:23
And I feel like a lot of your passion comes from what you came
14:27
Like, you're from Baltimore. Like, it ain't really much got to be said on top of that, right
14:31
Right. That's right. It's really hard to be from Baltimore and not be touched by the criminal justice system
14:37
And being that I was a part of it as well, you know, I did 17 years in the fed
14:41
I was up Cumberland. I ain't never been out of the cut, but I was a little bit everywhere
14:46
But now I'm a licensed real estate agent. I own my own brokerage
14:50
Come on. I own a school home. You know what I'm saying? I'm married. Got a little kid
14:54
So, yeah, I do know that there is life after incarceration. I would love to be a part of your outreach program
15:04
Like anything I can do as far as speaking, influencing you, anything
15:09
Cause I like you, your energy is coming through this phone, yo. And you really love
15:13
right? Thank you. Listen, go to pinky gives back and send your information via DM
15:17
And somebody going to reach out to you. Absolutely. You a citizen
15:21
All right, Tracy, go ahead. Yeah, man. Pinky, you are just a lightning rod in human form
15:27
We're so grateful for you. I'm wondering, um, Because a lot of people, they may think if they were in your shoes and now they reached this point, there were all these hurdles that everything is smooth sailing
15:36
Can you share what some of the challenges you currently face are
15:41
Making sure that I don't get sued. That's the big one. Making sure that, like, I always have my paperwork on point
15:49
Right. There's a saying, new level, new devil. Right. So what I realize is when I got this raise and I got this money, I got more bills, very expensive bills. Right
15:59
And now you got to really be mindful of your money because I've seen so many people in this industry and the hospitality industry and the entertainment industry get a lot of money and lose it really, really fast because people think it's just money sitting in the bank
16:12
So that's a real challenge that I deal with. Remember, I didn't come from money, right
16:16
Like I didn't have a silver spoon in my mouth. I come from people who like work all their life for a 401k and then get a pension and then like and then half of my family didn't even get that because we Jamaican, right
16:26
So learning how to properly manage money so that you can duplicate and 10x the money is a real challenge that we face as black people in our communities
16:37
And I am really trying to be the change that I wish to see. So people call me cheap, but I'm very frugal because I know what it looks like not to have it
16:44
That's one big thing. And labor is another big thing. Getting the right labor
16:48
Labor is another big thing, okay? But it a good problem now because everybody wants to be an entrepreneur Yeah So I don know if that an affluence something that I saying and doing or other people in the industry but everybody wants to do their own and I happy about it Not only do everybody want to be an entrepreneur but
17:04
first of all, big round of applause for Pinky Cole. Your story is a movie waiting to happen
17:08
It is. And it's not that I, we literally just talked like we did. This is my sister
17:14
Like, we're with Sister Swayze, so I'm just here, just on record at Swayze platform. I love
17:20
you and whatever we need from each other. I know it's there
17:25
Heather wanted to do a slutty vegan menu. You just made this up for me
17:32
I ain't mad at it. Hello. Partnership. I never say no to a great idea
17:37
You got a great vernacular. I love how you speak. You're such a motivational speaker
17:42
You should rap. I know you got bars. I know you knew where you was coming to this morning
17:50
She in the chair. Hey, listen. I mean, I know you knew it was going to be an interview, but did you think about you walking into the valley of a hyena? No
17:57
Hyena. Yo, why Pinky said when she came this way? She said, yo, this chair's a rapper's dream
18:02
It's a rapper's dream, man. I'm just here for all the rappers that couldn't ever make it to this chair
18:07
You got that for you here for? Yeah, that is what I'm here for. Yo, throw your torch
18:11
Throw a beat on, man. Come on, man. That's your volume right here
18:16
You want to call this a cypher? I'm over here catching ears like a Mike Tyson
18:20
Your girl was a titan Plant based fly with y'all like Dayla I'm in the Benz truck, tinted up, bumping Sizzle
18:26
A legend like Hootie I come through with my rock in the goofy I lamb chop the track of beef, but I don't eat the blue meat
18:32
Slutty vegan, yeah, that's the motto We bout to spice it up and give up green like it's cilantro
18:36
It's giving plant , what up, lotto I'm in the village with the people, oh yeah, man, my shit macho
18:42
You ain't catch that, slutty vegan, bring the rave back Line so long, they like, damn, where the wick at
18:47
Man, shit bad like my man Cause you ain't get your lick back Y'all freakies, I'm a bully with a switch at
18:52
I change a season like 52 Used to watch my mom work too
18:55
While my dad was doing 22 And now my business doing 52 times 2
18:59
And every time you look up, man, it's another 2 I'm wildin' out, yeah, I'm the cannon of my time
19:04
They tried to tie me up, I ed him up and gave him 9 I'm the MILF and the baby father
19:09
And I got a baby's father And now we got a son and a daughter
19:12
The restaurant's missing Mr. Carter But I am not human I'm a Martian
19:18
Pinky cold, got the game. More plizant. Been grinding in the dirt like I got ants in my pizzants
19:23
No injections, really made millions off of two buns. But now I lift my people up
19:27
See, that's a real pun. I always wanted to do that. We got a hyena up in here
19:41
This the first hyena that doesn't eat meat, though. We got a vegan
19:48
Iina up in there Iina You did that Thank you Thank you Yo
19:54
We been waiting For that moment Right there That was dope Thank you man
19:59
I really always Wanted to do that I grew up Listen I grew up
20:03
In a musical family My mother is a musician She's a lead singer Of a reggae band
20:06
So I grew up Going to rehearsals So I'm a poet Naturally
20:10
I'm a poet Right So I grew up Going to rehearsals We used to go To Ocean City And sit in a car
20:14
and my mother get on stage and perform. And people love my mother. Like they admired her because she can sing
20:20
and she's just an artist. And I grew up around a musical family. So that was my moment
20:23
That was good. There you go. And I'm glad you got that moment with us. Pinky Cole, man
20:28
Give a big round of applause. You are a true access to our community
20:32
to our nation. Globally, there are going to be young women all over the end, men
20:37
that's going to use you as inspiration. I'm inspired by you. Okay
20:41
Thank you. So thank you. Can I say something real quick? Absolutely. Okay, so two things
20:45
The first thing, I am going on a book tour. My book, Eat Plants, , is coming out next week
20:51
And my book tour starts in New York City at Gramercy Theater. You can go to Ticketmaster.com and get tickets. Okay
20:57
Right? And it's going to be a vibe. I got celebrity performances and everything. But what I really wanted to do is I wanted to talk to the entrepreneurs
21:03
Can I do that for a second? So here I am. I come from nothing
21:09
Right? I come from a family that has always had to work very hard for little
21:15
So when you hear me and you see me, I'm just a girl from around the way from East Baltimore who always was a big dreamer in the house with my grandmother watching Golden Girls
21:25
And my wildest dream has come true. So the moment where you ever feel defeated, think of Pinky in the back of your head
21:33
Pinky who once upon a time had a dollar in her bank account. Pinky who lost everything in a grease fire
21:38
who car got repoed, who got kicked out of her apartment. Think of Pinky and know that it ain't shit I can't do
21:44
Pinky did it. Why can't I do it? There you go. And that's the new mantra. We walking into 23 like, why can't I
21:49
Why can't I? Why can't I be a star? Why can't I be a boss? Why can't I be an entrepreneur
21:53
Anything that you want to do, you can, and you better not say that you can't
21:58
because you can do everything that you want to do as long as you believe in yourself. Pinky Cole, we love you
22:03
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're gonna make that a sweeper
22:07
You're gonna hear that playing on our show like it's a song. That's a fact. That's gonna be a song
22:12
You're about to chart on our show. This is amazing. I'm glad we finally made this happen
22:16
Continued success. We support you. It's important that we do. And Slutty Vegan, look for it
22:22
And Pinky Cole Foundation, look for it. And look for that book tour, right
22:27
Yeah. And all the things that's coming up. We love you. Love you back. Thank you, guys. Absolutely
22:35
Thank you
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