Issa Rae is a prominent writer, producer, director, and actress, and is the co-creator of the Emmy-award nominated HBO show “Insecure.” Rae was present at Black Tech Week in Cincinnati as a keynote speaker and spoke to tech students and professionals about her journey in the entertainment industry and how she has been able to continuously build herself and her brand.
Here are five keys that Rae shared with Tech Week attendees.
The ingredients for a successful partnership
“You have to be a vibe. You’re working with people, in some cases for eight to 16 hours, depending on what you’re doing. You’re around them all the time. No matter how brilliant they are, if they get on your nerves, or if you guys can’t go out to have a celebratory drink or have a conversation with them, it gets challenging. For me, we have to have work chemistry. We don’t need to be friends, but we need to have a chemistry of sorts.”
Keep family and friends close
“I have amazing friends and family. I like to release and turn up. Sometimes we can be so defined by our industries, that some of the losses that occur can deplete you. It’s essential to have people outside of the business to just remind me that at times it is not that serious and there’s more to life. I take that time seriously and I’m good about segmenting my time.”
Don’t invest your own money in a venture
“They always say never to invest your own money in a venture. I tried not to try, but, I tried to get the best service one time and it was an opportunity to do pilot shows. I put in my own money just to get it started with some pilot shows as an impulsive decision, and I felt like there was just a time window, and I was relying on other things coming in.”
There’s no such thing as failure unless you quit
“There have been times when I made mistakes or when things didn’t go the way that I wanted them to, or didn’t go the way that I planned. I think the point of view is so important. We’re not taking a test. It’s not over once you fail, unless you’re just like, “Well, I’m not going to graduate,” and for me, it’s very much about “Okay, what is this going to lead to?”
It’s okay to say “no”
“There are a lot of opportunities that come your way. If you’re like me, I struggle with what I call ‘windowitis’ where I feel like I have a very specific window of time to be successful and to get these opportunities. Because of that, you may find yourself saying ‘yes’ to everything, because this is the only chance that you have. I’ve found that that can be damaging, because you may be saying yes to things that aren’t right, that you may not be ready for, or you may be overwhelmed.”
