How much of our destinies do we control? How much is predetermined? And how much do the environments around us play a role in who we can be or what we can do?

As entrepreneurs, we like to think that we own our destinies, that we are 100% in charge. But the real world has a habit of reminding us that dreams are just that – dreams – and not everyone will see the same vision that we do.

“I walked in [to SMBA] and I was ready to apply for a loan and made my pitch to score, and the woman said to me, ‘Yeah, I don’t think this is going to work. You have three strikes against you: You’re a woman, you’re in debt, and I don’t know any successful black women in financial services, so I think you should do something else.”

That’s Melissa Bradley, the cofounder at Ureeka, a company on a mission to democratize economic opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

She has always dreamed big. But it wasn’t until her dreams started to expand beyond what traditional society could offer her that she realized in order to create her personal destiny, she’d have to change reality for everyone else in the process.

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