Small Business

Issa Rae Has a Plan to Support Black-Owned Businesses

The woman behind Insecure is rooting for everybody Black—and wants her production company to set an example.

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By Jordyn Holman

October 23, 2020 at 10:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the October 26, 2020 issue of businessweek.

Issa Rae created and stars in Insecure, a dramedy on HBO about dealing with the awkward reality of life. The Emmy Award-winning series, set in Los Angeles, features the historically Black neighborhoods of Leimert Park and Inglewood and highlights Black-owned businesses. Here is Rae’s email interview with Jordyn Holman of Bloomberg News.

Starting anything from the ground up is extremely challenging. You’re always meeting roadblocks, but a lot of it is you. For me, a lot of my holdup was procrastination and excuses. It’s already so hard to get started, and then when you finally do, it’s a fight to get it off the ground. You can never anticipate what challenges you’ll face. Then when you finally get it off the ground you realize, this is just the beginning!