Issa Rae starts a management company to close the pay gap

Issa Rae is leading a recent entrepreneurial enterprise that goals to teach creators how to secure a bag in branded transactions.

Recently founded Hoorae Media fired her management company Ensemble to help creators and types construct “deeper relationships” with large firms and corporations, reports. The latest enterprise in Rae’s growing business portfolio already includes a network of fifty content creators, including Mark Phillips, Drew Afualo and Leo González, who’re on the right track to partner with renowned firms akin to Pepsi, Chili’s and Popeyes.

Rae is joined on the board side by a trio of promoting veterans, co-founder and president Ian Schafer, chief revenue officer Matt Berger and head of revenue operations Keith Lee. Together, the group helps its creators package their products appropriately to attract offers from big brands.

“We offer deeper relationships with partners,” said Montrel McKay, president of development and production at the Rae Hoorae studio.

“A lot of people just sell media views and match them to creators. We will teach you how to sell media to these brands and do it in a way that allows you to serve your audience.”

Ensemble also works with emerging content creators who’re constructing their audiences and preparing for high-profit sponsorships.

“We just see this as an evolution of the next generation discovering talent, and the path is not obvious,” Schafer said. “People tend to see digital technology as a minor league. This largely applies to the major leagues, but the thesis is that future talent has a much greater probability of being discovered by the public and funded by brands.”

Equality and inclusion are at the forefront of Ensemble’s contracts as the company goals to close the pay gap between white creators and creators of color.

“We want to address media budgets. We do not want to use small allocations for diversity-related purchases. That’s why it’s so important to work with Pepsi from the very beginning,” McKay said. “(We want to) show the world, we just try to drive popular culture.”

The recent enterprise adds to Rae’s growing portfolio of companies, including her studio Hoorae Media, talent management company ColorCreative, marketing company Fête and audio platform Raedio.