Aisha “Pinky” Cole’s rise with Slutty Vegan offers a public-source case study in how founder-led restaurant brands move from cultural attention to operational execution.
LEADERS · TODAY
TODAY'S BBD500 SPOTLIGHT · Leadership & Inclusion
VIEW PROFILE →Deanna Singh
Leadership consultant, keynote speaker, author and social entrepreneur. She helps organizations strengthen culture, accountability, inclusion and purpose-driven operations.
MORE FROM THE BBD500More people
More people
to know.
The BBD500 is Black Biz Daily's curated stage for Black founders, executives, investors, educators, authors, consultants, creators and business authorities whose work deserves to be seen. It is not a popularity ranking; it recognizes useful authority, demonstrated impact and sustained contribution.
EXPLORE THE BBD500 →01Technology Leadership
Everett Harper
Author, speaker, board director and former co-founder and CEO of Truss. He shares expertise on uncertainty, adaptive leadership, technology organizations and building resilient teams.
02Small Business
Melinda F. Emerson
Known as SmallBizLady, Melinda Emerson is an entrepreneur, author, podcast host and small-business educator. She teaches business development, social selling and online marketing while advising brands that serve small businesses.
03Fintech
Abbey Wemimo
Co-founder and co-CEO of Esusu and a fintech entrepreneur. He shares lessons about financial access, credit building, fundraising and scaling technology designed to improve economic mobility.
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The Brief tells you what matters now. This desk follows the deeper business shifts our newsroom believes deserve sustained attention.
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BLACK ENTERPRISE XCEL Summit for Men 2026
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