NEW YORK—What are the most inspiring success stories? Maybe entrepreneurs who had humble beginnings or quirky jobs inspire us the most. Serbian entrepreneur Aleksandra Scepanovic is one of them—her thrilling journey from the Bosnian war zone to a thriving real estate business is one of a kind.
Scepanovic began her career as a journalist in Sarajevo, where she covered the Bosnian war. Today, she runs Ideal Properties Group, a real estate firm with 250 brokers in Brooklyn, New York.
Her happy life in former Yugoslavia turned into a horror movie when civil war broke out in 1992.
“I studied archaeology at university and I was really interested in becoming an expert in the Neolithic age,” she said. But she gave up on her dream career and pursued journalism instead. She joined a local radio station, which was highly critical of Slobodan Milosevic, then president of Serbia.
“Milosevic gave a very stern warning they would not tolerate anything other than their own political views. They sent tanks into the streets of Belgrade,” said Scepanovic.
