A challenge that Black-owned businesses have faced in recent years is gaining access to funding to help them grow. This challenge has become even more difficult because of policy changes, specifically the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate programs like the Minority Business Development Agency and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

Both programs were crucial for Black business owners because they helped companies pursue their goals and grow. Even though these cuts are recent, this is something the founder of tea company Steepers Only, Angelica Lee, has had to navigate through since she founded the company in 2019.

Despite these setbacks, Lee is committed to creating high-quality, culturally inspired teas, all while advocating for better support for Black entrepreneurs.

Lee was inspired to start Steepers Only on a missionary trip to Kenya she took at 16 years old with her family. While she was staying in the Maasai territory, Lee noticed that people would pause anywhere and everywhere to drink a cup of tea and converse. She realized how significant of a role tea played when building communities.

“I asked our missionary pastor, ‘What time is tea time in Kenya?”’ Lee said. “He told me, ‘Every time is tea time.’”

This memory shaped her vision of a business she hopes is just as much about selling tea as it is about bringing people together.

Lee has a background in food science from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and many years of experience in the food industry. She was able to turn her passion into something real and built Steepers Only.

Based in her hometown of Chicago, the shop offers many popular blends of tea, like their most popular mint green tea, as well as chamomile lavender, hibiscus apple cinnamon, spiced chai and many more.

While Lee’s business is steadily growing, building it as a Black woman entrepreneur has not been without obstacles. When asked about the elimination of some funding programs, she was direct.

“I think overall it’s unfortunate,” Lee said. “So far, we have not really been directly impacted, but there are some programs I’d like to apply to that I haven’t seen become available.”

Lee was concerned about how diversity, equity, and inclusion is often misunderstood as only benefiting Black communities, and how she believes it is actually about celebrating everyone’s differences.

“Merriam-Webster defines diversity as the condition of having or being composed of different elements,” Lee said. “It’s not just about Black people — it’s about all of us.”

Resources that help businesses grow and grants that offer mentorship and financial help have slowed or have disappeared altogether, leaving business owners like Lee to mainly rely on her own resources. Her peers in programs like the Target Accelerator have been thriving because of that support, drawing attention to what is at risk.

“It helps a lot,” Lee said. “To not be by yourself, to surround yourself with like-minded individuals or experts in your field — it reminds you of why you got started. And when we don’t have those programs to help move our businesses along, you kind of get stuck.”

Adrienne Plummer, the author of “The CHI Brown Girl” and a long time friend of Lee, has personally seen Steepers Only grow throughout the years.

“She’s evolved from a website-based business to being on the shelf of a grocery store downtown,” Plummer said, referencing Steepers Only’s presence at Foxtrot stores.

Plummer’s daughters have helped Lee package and market her teas; they see her as a mentor.

“She inspires my children because she doesn’t give up,” Plummer said, recalling the time Lee sold her tea at an outdoor event despite rainy weather.

Lee is always hosting pop-up events, and Plummer believes that those events embody the “every time is tea time” ideal of Steepers Only, allowing for communities to connect across all of Chicago.

As a woman of color, Lee faces many challenges.

“As a Black woman, no one’s running up to you trying to offer you funding,” Lee said.

She quoted Mark Cuban, who suggested that Black women should focus on building a great business rather than seeking funding — a perspective she has taken with her in her journey, although she acknowledges the irony.

“I’ve seen peers of other races talking about all this investor money they have. … I don’t have that,’” Lee said.

Still, Lee continues to work towards her goals, balancing Steepers Only with her day job in food industry regulation. This role has helped hone her skills in working with and navigating FDA requirements.These skills have pushed her even closer to her goal: transforming Steepers Only into a nationwide household name, making it her full-time focus.

Lee is a part of many food and beverage groups like The Hatchery and Naturally Chicago, not only to network with fellow entrepreneurs but also to gain knowledge.

“The people along the way have been the most rewarding part,” Lee said. Lee advises other Black entrepreneurs to start by finding a mentor, as their experiences will help young entrepreneurs pursue their passions.

Dearra Williams, a Black woman entrepreneur, founder of D.W Digital, and Steepers Only’s marketing partner, looks to Lee as a mentor because of her passion and drive.

“The fact that she’s been balancing both and doing it so effortlessly, like how is she doing all this?” Williams said, while talking about Lee’s ability to balance building and growing her brand while also working a full-time job. “I applaud her for just being able to balance both because it’s not easy, especially for a product based brand.”

Williams said she’s been inspired by Lee to not only work hard and grow, but to also promote Steepers Only as a company that builds connections while echoing Lee’s passion for tea.

Looking ahead, Lee remains optimistic about the future. In this year alone, Steepers Only has been able to expand into many new channels, like their recent launch at Foxtrot locations in Chicago, on Amazon and online at steepersonly.com.

Looking beyond sales, Lee feels that Black-owned businesses are a part of economic equity, channeling funds into communities that have been overlooked by federal support.

“It’s important for us to have our own things that no one can take away,” Lee said.

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