Aisha “Pinky” Cole Hayes, founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan, has risen to prominence in the restaurant industry. And if you ask her, she’ll tell you it’s partly due to her generosity that surpasses a personal need to be successful. Since opening the doors to the first Slutty Vegan, a casual food chain restaurant, in Atlanta, Georgia, Cole Hayes has raised $25 million in Series A funding, opened 14 locations across the nation, and has built the vegan hamburger company into a $100 million business. Along the path to multimillions, Cole Hayes has built her philanthropic and media portfolio by giving back to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, former employees by gifting them with franchises, and her platform, American Sesh.
As the face of Slutty Vegan and the brains behind the operation, Cole Hayes stays grounded by being authentic and transparent about who she is as a woman and business owner. However, she has tapped into a new level of clarity to experience a renewed sense of freedom in life.
“I haven’t always been clear. That lack of clarity resulted from caring about what people thought about me, how I showed up in the world, and what I created. I’ve always been a people pleaser because I’m in the consumer-facing business. It’s important to please people. On the flip side, that has also been a thing that has held me back. So, these days, I have a different level of mental clarity that is at peace with showing up in my authenticity. It’s a different layer of authenticity that gets me excited every day – because no matter what happens, I will always be real. I’m always going to be honest. I’m always going to be me. That is a piece of clarity that money cannot buy,” said Cole Hayes.
Community at the Core
In addition to being clear about her boundaries and business decisions, Cole Hayes is firm and unwavering about helping small business owners and entrepreneurs get the knowledge, access, and support they need to be efficacious.
That inclination to give and share freely often shows up in the form of Cole Hayes attending community meetings and sharing business tips with her million-plus following on social media and her media platform, American Sesh. Most recently, she and her husband (and fellow restauranteur) Derrick Hayes took centerstage at REVOLT WORLD in Atlanta, Georgia, to help other entrepreneurs unlock the secrets to building a business from the ground up.
Cole Hayes’ traditional Jamaican mother is also to thank for her core values to uplift others.
“My mother was just such a giving spirit. I didn’t even realize that my mother was teaching me how to show up in the world – and how to be a steward, a lender, and not a borrower. In business, board members have a fiduciary responsibility. As a successful entrepreneur, I have a moral responsibility to be able to support those who look like me and who want opportunities,” said Cole Hayes. And she said that is something she’s not willing to bend on. “I don’t think that will ever change, which is why not many people like me get to make it this far. I don’t take that for granted. I’m able to go into rooms that not a lot of Black women have been able to enter. Now that I’m in the room, I’m welcoming other people in. And I’m very strategic and intentional about that.”
On any given day, she advocates for small business owners who might struggle to stay in business by spreading the word by mouth. And it has been proven to be effective. In fact, according to research conducted by Dynata in 2021, 42 percent of Black-owned businesses are discovered by word-of-mouth marketing.
When asked what inspires her to show up the way she does as a leader, Cole Hayes shared that it’s the responsibility that comes with access for which she’s worked hard.
“I am touching the helm of billion-dollar garments, and I have a different level of access. If I fumble that access, it affects every single person who is trying, praying, and working to get the kind of access I have. What keeps me motivated is that there are people who believe in me to continue to make it,” said Cole Hayes. “So, my business decisions are no longer just about Pinky and what’s best for Pinky. It’s about what’s best for the culture. I’m not just selling burgers and fries. Any move I make will affect how people look at Black-owned businesses, women founders, and Black women founders.”
A Public Display of Love and Balance
Running a multi-million-dollar business and being a servant leader is not for the faint of heart. That is why Cole Hayes centers her spirituality, husband, children, and family at the core of everything she does.
As a businesswoman, she trusts her intuition when making decisions. She also leans into the most important relationship in her life and in business, which is with her husband Mr. Hayes, who is the CEO of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks. Together, they have been recognized as a powerful couple within the restaurant industry. In recent months, the Hayes’ have landed residencies in Las Vegas and signed deals with the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic team.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve my equal, but he is a person who dreams like me, who wants to win like me, who feels like the underdog like me, who has to prove himself to the world like me, but is also passionate like me,” said Cole Hayes.
She hopes their public display of love will inspire others to win at business with their partner. And she is grateful to be doing life and business with Mr. Hayes. “Some people think it’s hard because we’re in two different food genres within the industry. It’s easy. He makes meat, and I make vegan food, but we both have the same goals. When you find someone who thinks like you and enjoys what you do, even when you disagree, that becomes a safe space. You hold on to people like that. So, I’m grateful and blessed to be able to meet somebody with whom I could bear children. I’m grateful for him and everything that we’ve created together.”
As a mother of three, Cole Hayes values spending quality time with her family and experiencing significant moments with her children as they reach milestones.
Creating Equity and Building Black Wealth
Every so often, the 2017 report by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies regarding wealth in the Black community by 2053 resurfaces. As the 2024 presidential election nears, the conversation about the projected median income for Black people in America reaching zero dollars has come about again.
While Black business owners own 3.5 million businesses and employ more than 1.2 million people, according to the US Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, Cole Hayes believes that people in high places within equity firms and those with access can help combat the 2053 projections.
“I think private equity firms are at the helm of the future of Black wealth. If people in power at private equity or investment firms are not predatory, that creates a safe space for Black entrepreneurs to raise funding for their businesses, sell their companies, and build generational wealth,” said Cole Hayes. However, she said that one challenge that can arise is when Black people don’t hold the door open for one another. “By the time investors who look like us get to the top, they often have gone through so many hills and valleys that they become cold. And when they become cold, at that point, it becomes about self. When it becomes about self, it’s less about opening the door for other people and more about securing their spot so they don’t lose it.”
So, how do Black founders sustain themselves?
“There needs to be more people that are intentional about wealth creation for Black people. The more spaces I go, the more people I can bring. Now, if there are 15 or 20 Pinky Cole Hayes’, we can solve the problem. But people who are intentional about growing wealth rarely get into spaces with a lot of money to be able to give it back,” said Cole Hayes.
Nevertheless, many would testify that she is doing her part.
Confidence Is Key
When Cole Hayes enters a room or a conversation, confidence precedes her.
“Confidence goes a long way. If I go flat broke today, I know that I have my personality and confidence. I can walk into every room like I own it,” said Cole Hayes.
To women looking to start or level up in their business, she implores them to go against the grain and take charge of their future by showing up boldly and politically.
“This game (business and entrepreneurship) isn’t designed for us. But now that we know it isn’t designed for us, we have to take it by the balls and make it about us. We have an opportunity right now, more than ever, to own, dominate, and take control. That’s why it is so important to vote. It’s essential because we have the opportunity to have a woman in a position that would change how women show up in America.” said Cole Hayes.