She ‘Accidentally’ Learned How to Run a Business at 19. Now She’s the CEO of a Company That Hit $600 Million in Her First Year.

AG1 (formerly known as Athletic Greens) hit $600 million in revenue last year. As you drink in that healthy number, consider the unlikely career path of the company’s CEO, Kat Cole. Kat began her working life as a hostess at Hooters and worked her way up to VP of the company by age 26. She moved on to become president of Cinnabon, where she tripled the business’s EBITDA in two years, and eventually moved on to AG1.

Kat recounted her career journey on How Success Happens, giving an absolute killer masterclass on spotting opportunities, saying yes when it’s scary, and building brands that resonate with millions.

We’ve broken down Kat’s insights to help give your success a shot of energy in three, two, one!

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Three Key Insights

1. Saying No to Opportunities Is the Biggest Risk of All

Kat didn’t have a grand plan when she started working as a hostess at Hooters at age 15. She was raised by a single mom and needed money—for college, for an apartment, for gas. So she worked every job she could: hostess, waitress, bartender, even cook when the kitchen staff quit. “I accidentally learned how to run a restaurant because I was being opportunistic,” she told me. That relentless work ethic led to an unexpected phone call when she was 19: Would she join a traveling training team to open Hooters franchises around the world? First stop: Sydney, Australia. She didn’t have a passport. She’d never been on a plane. But she said yes.

When I asked her if she was naturally comfortable with risk, she flipped the script: “Given where I came from, making those decisions to do something unexpected or previously unknown, it felt like more of a risk to say no. If I wait until it’s perfect, I am going to be stuck.” She saw every unexpected opportunity as a chance to learn something new, gain confidence, and stack the odds in her favor. “Learning is my currency,” she said. “If I can learn, if I can do something new and different, I will feel alive.”

Takeaway: Don’t wait for the perfect moment or the perfect skill set—say yes to opportunities that scare you, because discomfort is where growth happens.

2. Strategic Brand Moves Require Courage (and Backup Plans)

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