When Pinky Cole sat down for an unfiltered conversation with the Earn Your Leisure team this month, she didn’t hold back. The Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan restaurant founder peeled back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood chapters of her entrepreneurial journey — the moment she lost ownership of her $100 million brand.
During this interview, Pinky Cole shared the unfiltered story behind the 43-day chapter when she no longer owned the $100 million company she built from the ground up.
If you read our first breakdown, “How Pinky Cole Lost Slutty Vegan,” then you already know the basics. But this time? We’re going deeper.
Who Am I & Why I Care?
My name is J.D. Smith, and I’m the Chief Technology Officer of Chicago Southsider. In my day job, I work as a Deal Partner for several venture capital firms — helping investors find startups to fund and working with founders to ensure they’re ready to grow and succeed.
I also run an advisory firm called Startup Guru, where I help founders become “investor-ready.” That means preparing their businesses (and mindsets) for the financial world most people aren’t taught about — things like equity, valuations, SAFE notes, and more.
Now that Pinky Cole has spoken, let’s dig into what took place.
What actually happened to Pinky Cole’s business?
Slutty Vegan was a rocket ship. Pinky raised $25 million in Series A funding in 2022 from investors like Danny Meyer and Richelieu Dennis, which valued the business at $100 million. This valuation is called the “post-money” valuation, which is the total value of a company calculated immediately after it receives a new round of investment funding.
The Series A funding round meant she gave away 25% of the company in exchange for an investment of $25 million. She kept 75% ownership at the time. After she received the new investment dollars, she expanded her footprint, leading to 14 new locations.
To put it in context, each new store cost about $875,000 to build, and she was doing this during the pandemic and inflation, when supply chains were out of control and everything cost more.
Pinky Cole and her team accomplished nearly everything they promised. But here’s where it got tricky: the overhead, which includes things like rent, salaries, and utility bills, started hitting a burn rate of $1 million a month amongst all the locations. Even though the business made money, it was getting outpaced by expenses. What does burn rate actually mean?
Burn rate measures how fast a company is using up its cash reserves — usually money raised from investors — while it’s getting started and may not be making much revenue yet. It’s like tracking how quickly the company’s cash reserves are ‘burning’ away before it becomes self-sustaining.
Here’s an example:
Company A raised $1,000 and spends $100 of that money every month on things they need to keep going. But here’s the problem: they are spending more than they are making in sales. That $100 a month? That’s their “burn rate.” Knowing the burn rate is super important because it shows how fast the money jar is emptying — and how much time they have to turn things around before they run out of cash.
Now, let’s see what happens next.
Based on the interview, Pinky said:
“On February 13th, 2025, Slutty Vegan went into an official restructure. That meant I no longer owned my business”.
Slutty Vegan Restructuring Process
For 43 days, Pinky wasn’t the legal owner of Slutty Vegan. The brand was turned over to an assignee — a third party responsible for resolving debt obligations through a process called Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC). This isn’t bankruptcy. It’s a formal restructure used to prevent a business from shutting down.
According to Pinky, this wasn’t about a lack of revenue. The business still brought in money — $70 million over its lifetime, according to her statement. So what was the issue? Massive overhead.
She Bought Her Company Back — But It Wasn’t Easy
Even though Pinky still technically owned 61% of the company (down from her original 75% due to other investment rounds), she had no say. That’s how restructuring works.
She had to bid for her own company — just like an outsider would. Pinky said:
“It was like watching a house you built go up for auction.”
At one point, she brought in a strategic partner, a person or business that contributes capital and expertise, to help her with the bid — but let them go before closing. Why? The alignment wasn’t right. She didn’t want to build the next chapter with someone who wasn’t on the same page.
Pinky dropped some wisdom by saying:
“Partnerships are like marriages. If there’s even a little hesitation in your spirit, don’t do it.”
According to the EYL interview, on March 28, 2024, at 2:53 p.m., she officially got her company back. That’s the day Slutty Vegan became 100% hers again.
Let’s Talk Lessons — and What Founders Need to Know
This isn’t just a comeback story. It’s a crash course in real-world entrepreneurship. Pinky broke down what happens when you raise money — and what you need to be ready for.
Quick Takeaways for Founders:
- Monitor your spending.
- Know your monthly burn rate — and review it often.
- Partnerships are like marriages. Make sure the alignment feels right.
- Get investor money only if you’re ready to be accountable for it.
She made it clear: getting investors can unlock big dreams. They helped her grow fast, open new stores, and put Slutty Vegan in the spotlight. She’s grateful for that.
But she’s also honest: when you take investor money, you work for them now.
“You’re working to get them their money back,” she said. “It’s a job. A different kind of job — but still a job.”
That’s why the terms matter. If you’re creative and want full control, think long and hard. Some people prefer the slow, independent path. Others are okay with giving up equity for speed and scale.
The secret is knowing your goals — and what kind of pressure you’re built for.
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