Pinky Cole announced in her moving and inspiring commencement speech to the Clark Atlanta University (CAU) graduating class of 2022 that she along with partner Varo Bank, N.A, Member FDIC will be providing every graduate with the ability to register a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) to start their own business. Pinky is the renowned Founder, CEO and visionary behind Slutty Vegan ATL, Bar Vegan, and The Pinky Cole Foundation. She is also a celebrated graduate of Clark Atlanta University who was named Miss Clark Atlanta University while she attended in 2009. Pinky is the youngest speaker in CAU history to deliver the revered commencement address. Varo is the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer bank. The bank’s mission is to help people at all income levels build generational wealth and realize their financial power.
Pinky said it best to the over 800 students on the graduation stage this weekend – “It matters how you treat people. You are about to go out into the world. Some of you will own businesses, become supervisors and lead teams. You will be called on to push people to realize greatness that they might not see in themselves. And even as you hold people to the highest standards possible, you will still have to lead with grace.”
In the spirit of pushing others to reach their greatness, Pinky and Varo Bank’s gift of LLC registrations will help pave the way and inspire America’s future entrepreneurs. She motivated graduates to “Fall, get up and fall again. Fall as many times you need to and get up as many times as you fall – knowing that with each stumble, you gained more strength. Each mistake got you closer to your purpose and destiny!”
Pinky concluded her speech by encouraging the graduates to “Make that money. Don’t let the money make you!”
Pinky is known for changing the world with her vegan comfort food, philanthropy and activism, as recently profiled on the cover of Essence magazine, CNN, The New York Times, People Magazine, Forbes & more. As founder of The Pinky Cole Foundation, she works to provide a roadmap for black economic progress achieved by creatively leveraging economic opportunities, successful risk-taking and innovation. She also recently made headlines by raising $25 million at a $100 million valuation in a Series A funding round, with funding backed by Enlightened Hospitality Investments (co-founded by Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group) and New Voices Fund (led by billionaire entrepreneur & ESSENCE Ventures CEO Richelieu Dennis).
Dedicated to reinventing vegan food culture, Slutty Vegan’s crave-worthy, indulgent menus and joyful customer interactions draw locals and visitors to eagerly wait in now-famous lines down the block for vegan burgers and more. Sluttified fans include celebrities Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Jermaine Dupri, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry, Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah and many more. Pinky also announced her highly anticipated first cookbook, Eat Plants, B*tch, to be published this fall by Simon & Schuster imprint 13A.
Cole pours all her love, experience and talent into a recipe for success. In May 2019, Cole established The Pinky Cole Foundation. In partnership with other philanthropists, she has paid rent for struggling local businesses, paid the tuition of 30 Clark Atlanta University students, purchased a car and life insurance for the family of Rayshard Brooks who was murdered by a police officer in spring 2020 and more. Most recently, Cole teamed up with Derrick Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks to spearhead the Square 1: The Liife Experience, a program with an initiative to provide life insurance policies by December 2023 to 25,000 Black men to support their health and generate generational wealth in the black community.
Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African-American history. Atlanta University, established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, was the nation’s first institution to award graduate degrees to African-Americans. Clark College, established four years later in 1869, was the nation’s first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African-American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Morehouse School of Medicine) that comprise the Atlanta University Center Consortium.
About Slutty Vegan ATL
Founded in 2018, Slutty Vegan ATL quickly grew a loyal following thanks to Founder, CEO and visionary Pinky Cole’s cheekily named, creative takes on plant-based burgers and fun, party atmosphere. With a mission to provide quality vegan meals to communities that would have otherwise never had these options, the wildly popular concept has not slowed down since opening, with people from all over Atlanta and beyond lining up to try the famed vegan burgers. Igniting a national vegan revolution that’s loved by everyone including the world’s most famous celebrities and sports stars such as Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish, Will Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence and Missy Elliott, Slutty Vegan ATL is truly changing the way people think about vegan food.
Founder Pinky Cole has been nationally recognized by acclaimed publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Forbes, People magazine, Wall Street Journal, Southern Living, Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine, and was recently featured on the front cover of ESSENCE. Slutty Vegan was awarded “Best Burger” by VegOut Magazine’s 2022 VegOut Awards, and Pinky has been named to Restaurant Hospitality’s 2021 Power List, Forbes Next 1000, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Powerful Women in Business List, LA Wire Influential Women of 2020, PETA’s 2021 Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities List and Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40 List.
About Varo Bank
Varo Bank is the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer bank built from the ground up, designed to make financial inclusion and opportunity a reality for all. Varo Bank is reimagining the modern banking experience and providing customers with the tools they need to build financial resilience and realize their financial power – with offerings such as Believe, a secured card to help build credit, Varo Advance to help stretch hard-earned dollars between paychecks, the ability to earn cashback at 1,000 merchant locations nationwide, and a newly launched high yield savings account option, more than 80x the national average. A different kind of financial institution – Varo Bank serves everyone striving to build a better future – from those with abundance to people struggling to make ends meet. Varo has been named one of Forbes’ World’s Best Banks in 2022, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and ranked No 7 on the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing companies for 2021. For more information on Varo Advance, Perks, and the Believe program, visit www.varomoney.com, like Varo Bank on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @varobank. Varo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.
