The crowd roared in applause and cheers as Pinky Cole Hayes came out to greet the audience, dancing to “Back That Thang Up,” by hip-hop artist Juvenile, as the keynote speaker for the 2024 Mass Black Expo conference, “Building Black Wealth, Empowering Black Voices,” held last weekend.

Hosted by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA), the Mass Black Expo is “a two-day immersive experience that brings together hundreds of Black-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals with purchasing opportunities, capacity-building resources and skill and career advancement options,” according to the event website.

Cole is a successful entrepreneur in her own right, as a restaurateur, brand strategist, influencer, author, CEO and founder of the Atlanta-based restaurant chain, Slutty Vegan.

Moderated by NBC10 Boston and New England Cable News (NECN) Reporter Glenn Jones, Cole spoke about her journey to becoming the entrepreneur she is today.

She shared with the crowd her journey from television producer for the “Iyanla, Fix My Life” and “Maury” shows to becoming the successful founder and entrepreneur of the Slutty Vegan, saying that it gave her the opportunity to be a disrupter.

“I got the opportunity to meet so many people from all different walks of life,” she said, “and it gave me an opportunity to be a disrupter — because for a living, I’m chasing people around with a camera and having them in their true, authentic self, but it was deeper than that. I got to really connect with people in a whole other way, which really prepared me for the business that I now have, because I know how to meet people where they are … no matter what you look like, no matter how old you are, no matter the situation, I can relate to you.”

Cole also spoke about some of her failures that helped her to propel to success, including an opportunity to appear on a national network that was canceled after she was sued for unpaid wages, which she said allowed her to make the adjustments to improve her business, including hiring better talent.

“We’re at dinner, and I get a phone call from a publicist. This happened two different times, but this time was the “Today Show.” I get a call from my publicist, ‘Hey, Pinky, we got some bad news … Well, you’re all over the news right now because you’re getting sued for unpaid wages.’ It crushed me. You ever had something you wanted so bad, and then that thing that you wanted, you don’t get? It crushed me, but I needed that to happen … because sometimes it’ll take the most uncomfortable moments of your life to get clear,” she said.

She also talked about the economics of her restaurant business, specifically how she did not look to market to the small percentage of individuals who are eating vegan food, but to those who have not tried it yet.

“When I evolved in the business, I’m like, ‘Oh, there are people that didn’t even know fries were vegan.’ People are walking up to me and saying, ‘Pinky, my firstever vegan burger in my life, I ate because of you.’ So now, I’m showing people that you can have alternatives. My audience is not vegan at all … Half of them, they’re like, ‘Alright, I’m not coming. We (are) gonna eat something else.’ But the meat-eaters, they’ve never had it before, they want to see what the hype is about … I am happy that my audience is not vegan, because there’s a world in which I can educate in the dopest way possible,” she said.

Lastly, Cole spoke about where she is now versus where she wants to take her business next.

“I’m in a season right now in my life where it’s a fork in the road,” she said.” And when I say this, I know I’m not gonna be the only person by myself. The fork in the road is, I could be this popular company out of Atlanta that everybody knows. Just popular, just cool. Or I can be an iconic brand that stands next to the likes of the biggest businesses in America, right? Both of them are cool. But do you want to be popular or you want to be iconic? You understand what I’m saying? How do you choose?”

She went on to explain why she does not want her business to just be popular.

“What comes with icon-ism is legacy. It’s welcoming. It’s breaking generational curses for people,” she said. “It’s making sure that people win. It’s making sure that more of us are in spaces that we historically don’t see, which is why it’s important to vote. It’s important to make sure that that icon-ism is front and center. And in order to do that, you’ve got to scale wisely. I used to want to scale so fast, just to open up doors … but it (doesn’t) matter if you open up doors, if once you look up under the hood, the stores ain’t functioning properly … I want my brand to outlive me.”