Pinky

Running a business is far from easy. From coming up with an initial concept to acquiring investors, being an entrepreneur is serious work. There are thousands of entrepreneurs in the United States, but some especially stand out. For example, Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole has made her mark in the vegan space. The Black female vegan entrepreneur started Slutty Vegan in 2018. Six years later the fast-food vegan chain has fourteen brick and mortar locations. But Cole isn’t stopping there. She is a big believer in mentoring and investing in Black vegan entrepreneurs like Angela Simmons, who started a vegan funnel cake company called Angela’s Cakes. Simmons was inspired to start Angela’s Cakes when Cole initially came up with the idea. Now Angela’s Cakes is operated as a partner through Pinky Cole and Slutty Vegan.

Simmons only had kind words to say about her mentor and business partner Pinky Cole. “Pinky and I had a relationship prior and then we talked. Pinky was the part of the brainchild behind Angela’s Cakes. I talked to her and she had an idea. We collaborated and came up with Angela’s cakes. It’s really important to be behind one another when it comes to the different ideas we have. I’m a really big believer in collaboration,” she told me.

“It’s always great to get advice from someone who’s done it before. I’m really big on getting advice from people who have done it successfully, who have great input. Pinky is a mentor. This is what she does in the food world. This is my first go at being in the food space. Even though I love it, it’s much different when you’re actually in it from a business perspective. Make sure you have a mentor in that space, and, if not, look for one,” she said. And Cole is one of Simmons’ biggest champions. I spoke with Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole about what she believes is the secret sauce to running a successful business.

Emphasize Marketing and Branding

Cole isn’t in the food industry for the money, although according to her, Slutty Vegan is valued at nearly one hundred million dollars. She believes that marketing is the voice of a business– and she isn’t wrong. The Atlanta based entrepreneur has plenty of solid advice for up and coming entrepreneurs, especially those