How I Built This with Guy Raz

HIBT Lab! Slutty Vegan: Pinky Cole

Mar 23, 2023

Pinky Cole, founder of the bold vegan fast-food chain Slutty Vegan, shares her inspirational journey from Baltimore to culinary success. She discusses the challenges of her early ventures, including the devastating loss of her restaurant to a fire, which fueled her resilience. Pinky emphasizes the importance of discipline and creativity in revolutionizing vegan cuisine, utilizing innovative branding and social media to attract diverse customers. Her story showcases how Slutty Vegan is transforming perceptions of plant-based dining with flair and authenticity.

53:20

Episode guests

Pinky Cole

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Early Entrepreneurship Through Childhood Hustle

00:26

The Slutty Vegan Brand: Redefining the Term

01:22

Intro

4min

A Journey from Baltimore to Restaurant Success

14min

From Ashes to Opportunity: A Journey of Resilience

4min

Discipline and Deliciousness: The Slutty Vegan Journey

16min

Overcoming Community Resistance to Build a Vegan Fast Food Brand

4min

Revolutionizing Vegan Cuisine

16min

Podcast Wrap-Up and Insights on Corporate Rivalries

3min

It’s hard to miss a Slutty Vegan when you’re driving past one.

No, we’re not talking about a person… We’re talking about a fast-casual burger chain — and a vegan one at that!

Since launching Slutty Vegan in 2017, Pinky has seen her plant-based brand through several iterations: a ghost kitchen, then a food truck, then eventually several brick and mortar locations that continue to pop up across the east coast. And with a valuation of $100 million and expansion into other sectors, Pinky is only getting started...

This week on How I Built This Lab, Pinky talks with Guy about her journey as a TV producer-turned-restaurateur, and how Slutty Vegan is a prime example of Seth Godin’s Purple Cow theory: companies must build things worth noticing into their products and services. Plus, Pinky reflects on her roots, sharing the valuable lessons about discipline and work ethic that she learned from her parents.

This episode was produced by Carla Esteves and edited by John Isabella, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.

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