How Renae Bluitt Champions Black Women Entrepreneurs

It’s 2026 and Renae Bluitt is busy planning out the year for She Did That. After wrapping a successful partnership with iOne Digital—featuring sold-out shopping experiences and a collaboration with the WNBA’s New York Liberty—it’s time to regroup as she charts the next chapter for the brand. Yet the mission hasn’t changed. Bluitt built She Did That. with a clear purpose in mind: to champion Black women entrepreneurs.

An entrepreneur herself, Bluitt is invested in seeing Black women thrive. “Our journeys are so unique, and not just from the perspective of the obstacles we’re facing, but how we approach things—the love and creativity and intention that we pour into our work,” she says. 

By shining a light on fellow entrepreneurs while raising awareness around critical issues like the investment gap impacting women of color, she is organizing the business community in a powerful way to expand wealth and opportunity. MadameNoire caught up with Bluitt about her journey thus far, the brilliance of Black entrepreneurship, and what’s next.

Complex Reality

For well over a decade, Black women have been recognized as the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the country, generating $118.7 billion in revenue. But behind these figures, Bluitt highlights a complex reality. “One of the most significant shifts we’re seeing now is the return of necessity-driven entrepreneurship for Black women,” she says, citing the widespread rollback of DEI initiatives and corporate layoffs that have made the job market increasingly unstable. “Shrinking access to opportunities in corporate America is absolutely pushing more Black women towards entrepreneurship, but not always because they plan to.”

Bluitt, who got her start in public relations, left the corporate workforce on her own terms, “I was intentional about creating a runway for myself.” Having a stable foundation made a world of difference when planning her exit. “When you’re choosing entrepreneurship, you can save and prepare for it,” she explains. But when people turn to entrepreneurship as a means of survival, “That creates a space where you’re building while you are financially vulnerable. You’re self-funding with limited safety nets.”

RELATED CONTENT: Laid Off, But Not Laid Down — How GirlTREK Is Getting Black Women Back On Their Feet After Job Loss [Exclusive]

Empowering Founders

Bluitt is well aware of the challenges that Black women must navigate as entrepreneurs. “Founders have been through the fire since the pandemic. We’re seeing a lot of businesses closing their doors,” she says. “There are a lot of people hanging on by a thread—financially, spiritually, and mentally.”

That said, Bluitt is realigning her focus, bringing it back to the founders and how her platform can best serve them. “I think it’s a great time to step back and pour into these women,” she says. “Because this has been such a challenging season for small business owners, I want to create experiences that are specifically for them.” When founders come together and share ideas, they are better equipped to thrive, she explains.

She Did That.

This journey has been a labor of love. In 2009, Bluitt launched In Her Shoes, the award-winning blog dedicated to Black women in business—documenting their stories, curating shopping guides, and producing events. “The work that I did for the blog was like market research,” says Bluitt, who built a network of founders across sectors including fashion, beauty, tech, and beyond.

She carried that momentum forward, releasing the She Did That. documentary in 2019, which tells the stories of Black women entrepreneurs, their triumphs and their challenges. It was a groundbreaking moment. “I was like, we absolutely need our own story here, because there are so many incredible women doing incredible things,” Bluitt says.

Holiday Bazaar

Bluitt has continued to expand her mission beyond the blog and the film. Each year, the She Did That. Holiday Bazaar—the brand’s signature event—attracts hundreds of attendees ready to shop Black-owned gifts for the holidays. 

She organized her first-ever holiday bazaar back in 2016, partnering with Vivrant Beauty, a Harlem boutique where the event was held. “When I say humble beginnings,” she says. “We had maybe four or five brands. It wasn’t much at all, but the energy in the space was beautiful. So many people came out to shop with these women.”

The number of Black vendors taking part in the annual can’t-miss shopping experience has grown to more than 50 at last year’s holiday bazaar in Brooklyn, NY. Guests mingled while exploring one-of-a-kind finds in fashion, beauty, home goods, specialty foods, and more. This isn’t your typical marketplace—the energy is warm and festive, buzzing with conversation and laughter.

The event will celebrate 10 years this 2026 season. “The holiday bazaar came out of my work with a Black woman entrepreneur, but then it started to fill a void, because there weren’t any other spaces where you could come and do all of your holiday shopping with intentionality, with Black women-owned brands,” Bluitt says.

Blueprint

A storyteller at heart, Bluitt is returning to her craft. With a new documentary in the works, the narrative will continue where her first film left off. “As you can imagine, so much has changed,” she says. “What does it look like to be a Black woman entrepreneur today?”

At the core of her work is preserving Black history. “If we don’t tell our stories, who will?” she says. “We’re in an era where our own government is trying to erase the history of the Black community and all of the contributions we’ve made. How are we capturing our legacy in a way that the next generation can use as a blueprint?”

Legacy

Bluitt remains focused on expanding economic empowerment, helping fellow founders rise beyond survival and build lasting legacies. It’s this resilience and ingenuity that sets Black women apart from the competition, she says. “We’re born with it. Our ancestors created a lot with a little. When I look at the creativity, innovation, and passion that we have, and compare it to counterparts who may have access to much larger budgets, I would still choose what a Black woman has created any day.”

“I say this all the time: we turn water into wine. And that is why I will choose Black women in every lifetime.”

RELATED CONTENT: Cathy Hughes Built An Empire: Celebrating 45 Years Of Urban One’s Black Media Legacy