-Pinky Cole built Slutty Vegan from an Instagram food delivery service in her apartment into a $100M brand with 14 locations — then filed for bankruptcy.
What actually happened?
In this episode of Leading Through Growth, Tony Sanders breaks down the leadership collapse behind one of the most talked-about restaurant brands in America, using Pinky's own words from The Breakfast Club: "Sometimes you put basketball players on the golf course."
This isn't a takedown! It's a case study — and a warning for every CEO and COO leading a fast-growing company right now.
What you'll learn:
- The 4 failure modes that show up in almost every fast-growth company
- Why profitable unit economics don't protect you from a broken leadership structure
- How to develop leaders before you delegate to them
- What recovery actually looks like when the growth trap has already set in
Chapters:
0:00 — What is the Growth Trap?
2:30 — How Slutty Vegan became a $100M brand
6:00 — The quote that explains everything
8:00 — The 4 leadership failure modes
15:00 — Losing it and fighting back
18:00 — What recovery really looks like
23:00 — 3 takeaways for your company
If you're leading a company between 50 and 300 people and things feel harder than they should, this episode is for you.