Inspiring Conversations with Marquelle Young of Juccee Shorts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marquelle Young.

Hi Marquelle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I think storytelling has always been the through line of my life. Before I ever picked up a camera, I was a kid who fell in love with the power of words. I started competing in speech competitions and became a State and National Oratorical Speech Champion before I was even 12 years old. At the time, I didn’t realize it, but I was learning one of the most important lessons of my career, stories have the ability to move people, create connection, and make people feel seen.

That eventually led me into filmmaking. I founded Small Onion Studios, a production company built around authentic storytelling and creating opportunities for stories that deserve to be told. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to direct and produce projects with major companies including Google, BET, LEGO, Verizon, Capitol Records, and others, while continuing to develop my voice as an independent filmmaker.

A few years ago, I discovered vertical microdramas, and I immediately knew I was looking at a major shift in entertainment. The way audiences consume content was changing, and mobile-first storytelling was creating an entirely new lane.

So I jumped in. I began writing, directing, and producing vertical series for international platforms, learning this emerging format from the inside. Those projects went on to reach hundreds of millions of views globally, but during that experience I also noticed something I could not ignore.

The future of entertainment was being built, but the same communities who have always been the cultural heartbeat of storytelling were not being centered in that future.

As a Black woman and filmmaker, I know firsthand the impact our stories, our creativity, our language, our style, and our culture have had on entertainment. Black and brown creators don’t just participate in culture, so often, we define it. And I didn’t want to watch another industry evolve where we were invited in later instead of helping build it from the beginning.

That realization became JUCCEE.
JUCCEE is not just another streaming app. It is a commitment to creating spaces where diverse creators can do more than make content — they can thrive, own, and build sustainable careers around community and equity.
And the timing matters.

Hollywood is shifting. Thousands of incredibly talented writers, actors, filmmakers, and crew members are finding themselves without consistent opportunities as the traditional industry changes. But I don’t believe our ability to work, create, and survive should only depend on permission from systems that have historically been difficult to access.

JUCCEE is about building another pathway.

Through the JUCCEE Vertical Production Cohort, we are educating and empowering creators with the tools needed to enter this growing industry. We are teaching filmmakers how to write, produce, direct, and monetize vertical stories while giving them the skills to adapt to where audiences are moving.

My goal isn’t just to build a platform filled with diverse and elevated Microdramas.
The vision is bigger.

We’re building an ecosystem, one where creators have education, opportunity, ownership, and the ability to build long-term careers.

Because when the future of entertainment is being created, we deserve to be there from the beginning.

Not just telling the stories.

Helping shape the industry.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been anything but smooth, but honestly I don’t know if anything worth building ever is.

One of the biggest challenges in the beginning was simply being early. When I first started talking about vertical storytelling, a lot of people didn’t fully understand what I was seeing. I was trying to explain that this wasn’t just a social media trend, it was an entirely new entertainment format and a shift in how audiences consume stories.

Being early can sometimes feel like being wrong until the rest of the world catches up.

Then, not even a year later, we started seeing the explosion happen. Major companies, creators, and studios began entering the space, and suddenly the conversations I had been having became the conversations everyone was having.

But being early also means building without the same resources and access others may have.

One of the biggest realities, especially as a Black woman founder, is access to capital. There are incredible ideas and founders that never get the chance to grow simply because they are not given the resources to build. Black women are among the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs, yet receive less than 1% of venture capital funding. Women founders overall still receive only a small fraction of available investment dollars, and that number becomes even smaller when you look specifically at Black women.

So much of building JUCCEE has required me to do what many underrepresented founders do: create proof before people believe. Build the table before anyone offers you a seat.

Another unexpected challenge has been learning that when you’re building something new, not everyone who is interested in the vision is interested in building the vision. My heart has always been around community. I believe deeply in sharing knowledge and creating opportunities. But I’ve also learned there will be people who want access to what you know without truly wanting to contribute to what you’re building.

That lesson was hard.

I’ve had to learn that protecting the vision is just as important as sharing it.

As a woman founder, I’ve also experienced the challenges that come with being the person leading the room. Sometimes those challenges are obvious, and sometimes they show up in subtle ways —having to fight harder to be heard, having your expertise questioned, or having people underestimate your ability to lead something you created.

I’ve even faced moments inside my own company where I had to remind myself that being collaborative does not mean making myself smaller. I built JUCCEE because I believe in empowering people, but I had to learn that the right people will be empowered by your leadership, not threatened by it.

And honestly, those experiences made me a better founder. They strengthened my instincts. They taught me how to identify alignment, how to build healthier teams, and how important it is to surround yourself with people who value the mission over ego.

And I’m incredibly grateful because those people did find me.

Today, JUCCEE is supported by a team of brilliant, ambitious, passionate creators who understand what we’re building and why it matters. People who believe that community and ownership can exist together.

I think what makes JUCCEE different is that we aren’t a huge Hollywood company coming in after seeing an opportunity. We aren’t trying to extract from a community or chase a trend.

We are building this from the ground up.

What I have is what many people entering this space are searching for: the experience, the knowledge, and the understanding of what makes vertical storytelling work. And instead of holding onto that, I’m sharing it.

Through our JUCCEE Vertical Production Cohort, we’re teaching writers, filmmakers, actors, and crew members how to adapt their skills for this new industry. At a time when Hollywood is changing and thousands of talented creatives are struggling to find consistent work, I believe we have an opportunity to create new pathways that aren’t completely dependent on traditional gatekeepers.

There are a lot of people rushing into this space wanting to be the first.

I’m much more interested in building something that lasts.

If taking the time to build intentionally means we create something more sustainable, more equitable, and more impactful, then I’m okay with that.

Because JUCCEE was never about just making content. It was about building a future where more of us can thrive.

As you know, we’re big fans of Juccee Shorts. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
JUCCEE is a mobile entertainment platform creating premium vertical microdramas for audiences who have been thirsty for stories that feel like them.

But JUCCEE is bigger than just another streaming app. At its core, JUCCEE is about pouring back into the communities that have always shaped culture.

We exist for two audiences: the viewers and the creators.

For viewers, we are creating addictive, elevated, bite-sized stories built for the way audiences consume entertainment today. Vertical dramas have exploded globally because they tap into something people have always loved: emotion, drama, romance, suspense, and characters you cannot stop watching. But as this industry grows, we believe there is room for stories that reflect the full spectrum of who we are.

Black and brown audiences are not a monolith. We don’t only want one type of story. We deserve romance, thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, comedy, messy drama, joy, luxury, softness, adventure, and everything in between.

JUCCEE exists to satisfy an audience that is thirsty for content and ready for more.

But the other side of JUCCEE is just as important: keeping creators hydrated during a creative drought.

As I mentioned, Hollywood is shifting. Many talented writers, actors, filmmakers, editors, and crew members are facing uncertainty and fewer opportunities. Instead of waiting for the industry to return to what it was, we believe this is the moment to prepare creators for where entertainment is going.

Through our JUCCEE Vertical Production Cohort, we are giving creators the tools to understand this new format, build valuable intellectual property, and create sustainable opportunities.

What sets JUCCEE apart is that we are not just building a library of content, we are building an ecosystem.

Our work includes:

• JUCCEE Originals — premium vertical series developed for mobile-first audiences
• Creator Partnerships — helping filmmakers produce and monetize their stories
• Production Services — helping brands and companies enter the vertical storytelling space
• Education & Workshops — preparing creators for the next evolution of entertainment

We specialize in stories designed specifically for vertical: fast-paced, emotional, binge-worthy series built around strong hooks, unforgettable characters, and moments audiences have to talk about.

What I am most proud of brand-wise is that JUCCEE is being built with the community, not just for the community.

This isn’t about coming in after a trend starts and extracting from culture. This is about making sure the creators who have always influenced culture have ownership and opportunity inside this next chapter of entertainment.

Our official launch is planned for Fall 2026, and we want people to be part of the journey early.

If you are a viewer looking for your next obsession, a creator looking for opportunity, or someone who believes the future of entertainment should include all of us — come get JUCCEE with us.

Join our “Thirsty for Content” list at:

http://www.jucceeshorts.com

Because trust us… the JUCCEE drama is just getting started.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I don’t define success as something you achieve alone.

As a director, I learned very early that anything truly meaningful takes a village. The best projects are never created because of one person — they happen when talented people come together, challenge each other, pour into the vision, and make something bigger than what any one person could have created on their own.

I think that philosophy has carried into everything I build.

Success to me is not about being the first, the loudest, or even the biggest. Success is about sustainability. It’s about creating something that continues to grow beyond you. It’s watching the people and communities you’ve invested in thrive.

Outside of filmmaking, one of my greatest joys is gardening, and I think it has taught me so much about leadership and building a company. There is something incredibly special about planting something from nothing, preparing the soil, making sure it has what it needs, caring for it every day, and trusting the process even when you can’t see what’s happening beneath the surface.

And then one day, it blooms!

Not because you forced it to, but because you created an environment where it could.

That is so beautiful to me and that is what success looks like to me.

That is also how I see JUCCEE.

I don’t want to build something where I’m the only one who wins. I want to build something where writers, actors, filmmakers, editors, crews, partners, and audiences all feel like they are part of something growing.

A successful business is not just measured by how much it can take from a community, it’s measured by what it gives back, what opportunities it creates, and whether the people connected to it are better because it exists.

Of course, I want JUCCEE to become a major force in entertainment. I want the stories to reach millions of people. I want the platform to succeed.

But the thing I will always be most proud of is looking around years from now and seeing the careers that were started, the voices that were elevated, the opportunities that were created, and knowing we built something healthy enough for others to bloom.

Pricing:

• Not yet

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jucceeshorts.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jucceeshorts?igsh=MWN1ZzVldXF4bTczNw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EPT8BBrC6/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquelleyoung?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jucceeshorts?si=DTJ3htKQW-FK5bAl
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jucceeshorts?_r=1&_t=ZP-96vpu6AEACV