Real people breaking real barriers. Every story here proves it's possible for someone like you.
deshawn_det broke through
Three years ago I was in a cell reading JavaScript books from the prison library. When I got out, nobody wanted to hire me. Background check. Done. Every time. So I decided to freelance. Last week a local real estate …
fatima_ldn broke through
I applied to 147 jobs. Got 12 interviews. Failed 11. I almost gave up after rejection 100. Then I saw David s breakthrough. Immigrant. Outsider. Made it to tech lead. Last Tuesday a startup in Shoreditch called. They wanted me. …
Six months ago I could not write a for loop. I was a high school English teacher for 8 years and everyone told me I was crazy to switch to tech at 32. I almost quit three times. But I …
I grew up in Paraisopolis, one of the largest favelas in São Paulo. My school had 60 kids per classroom. The library had 200 books, most of them damaged. I learned English from American TV shows with subtitles. I learned …
priya_bang broke through
My ex-husband told me I'd never be able to support myself. That I needed him. That a woman with two kids and no tech background had no business starting a company. I built TiffinTrack, a meal subscription management tool for …
When I came back from deployment I weighed 265 pounds. I was drinking every night. Eating garbage. Couldn't walk up stairs without getting winded. The VA therapist said exercise might help with the other stuff too. I thought that was …
I came to LA from Oaxaca when I was 16. Didn't speak English. Worked in other people's kitchens for 19 years. Dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, sous chef. Every restaurant I worked in, the owner got rich off recipes that …
I work 50 hours a week on the line. I wake up at 5am to code before my shift. I code on my phone during breaks. I watch tutorials while prepping mise en place. Everybody at the restaurant thinks I'm …
I moved to Berlin from Eastern Europe 6 years ago. I barely spoke German and my English was rough. My first tech job here was fixing bugs nobody else wanted to fix. I kept my head down, wrote good code, …
Four years ago I was folding shirts at a department store. I learned to code from YouTube videos and free online courses. No bootcamp, no CS degree, no connections in tech. I got my first junior role by cold-emailing 200 …
I started running because my doctor said I needed to do something about my blood pressure. I'm 37 and a mom of two under 5. Finding time to train was the hardest part. I ran at 5am before the kids …
marcus_ldn broke through
When I started running two years ago I couldn't do a single mile without stopping. My first 5K time was 34 minutes. I'm a software developer. I sit at a desk all day. Nobody in my friend group runs. My …
Every week we send stories of real people breaking real barriers. Matched to your background, your situation, your goals.