Business News

She was 17, working as a Hooters waitress in Jacksonville, Florida, when the cooks walked out. She didn't know how to deep fry chicken tenders or fries. She went back to the kitchen and figured it out. Two years later, Hooters asked her to fly to Australia to help open the first franchise there. She'd never been on a plane. She didn't have a passport. She got the passport and went. By 26, she was a vice president. She helped grow Hooters from 100 locations to over 500 in 33 countries and from $300 million to $1 billion in revenue. She never finished her undergraduate degree. At 32, Cinnabon recruited her to be president. She was the youngest CEO to ever appear on Undercover Boss. Under her leadership, Cinnabon added 200 bakeries, expanded to 56 countries, and approached $1 billion in annual sales through partnerships with Taco Bell, Burger King, and grocery stores. She grew up on a $10-a-week grocery budget. Three sisters. Single mom who left their alcoholic father when Kat was nine. The family survived on her mother's determination and multiple jobs. "Every year on my birthday card, my mom writes: 'Don't forget where you came from, but don't you dare ever let it solely define you.'" Kat was the first person in her family to attend college. She enrolled in an engineering program at the University of North Florida but dropped out to pursue her career at Hooters. She later earned her MBA from Georgia State University without a bachelor's degree, getting accepted through letters of recommendation from business leaders including Ted Turner. After Cinnabon, she became Group President of Focus Brands (Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, Moe's, Carvel, Schlotzsky's). Then in 2021, AG1 (formerly Athletic Greens) recruited her after the founder heard her on a podcast. She became President and COO, then CEO in 2024. She's known for a practice she calls the "hotshot rule": every month, she asks herself, "If a hotshot took over my job today, what's the first thing they'd fix that I've been tolerating?" Here's what Kat Cole's story makes me think about. She said yes before she was ready. Every major career leap, from the kitchen walkout to Australia to Cinnabon to AG1, happened because she said yes to something she wasn't qualified for yet and then figured it out in real time. "Saying yes before you are ready is only half of it. You have to use your hustle muscle to close the gap." Most people wait until they feel ready. They wait for the degree, the experience, the credentials, the confidence. Kat built one of the most impressive corporate careers of her generation by saying yes first and learning second. Every single time. I think about that in my own work. I've never felt fully ready to start any of the businesses I've built. The readiness came after the commitment. "Saying yes before you are ready is only half of it. You have to use your hustle muscle to close the gap." What are you waiting to feel ready for that you should just say yes to?