20. Grant Schneider on bringing Silicon Valley to Columbus

Grant Schneider is the Head of Upstart Columbus and a Data Scientist. With a PhD in Statistics, Grant leads the HQ2 for Upstart, a technology company based in Silicon Valley which is the leading AI lending platform partnering with banks to expand access to affordable credit.In this episode, we talk with Grant about bringing Silicon Valley to Columbus, his path from PhD to startups, and improving access to affordable credit.Since the opening of Upstart’s HQ2 in early 2019, Grant has led Upstart Columbus as it expanded from 0 to over 150 people.Prior to that, he worked for Upstart in the Silicon Valley office, where he had been a Data Science Manager since 2017, managing various teams of 5-10 data scientists.Grant spent the 3 years before this as a Data Scientist, building the artificial intelligence models and algorithms that are the "secret sauce" of the company. He helped develop early credit risk and marketing models that laid the foundation for future research which led to Upstart’s current position as industry leader in both areas.Grant has three degrees from The Ohio State University and lives in the Columbus area.Connect with Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantwschneider/Follow Grant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/grantwschneiderFor more information on Upstart, please visit: https://www.upstart.com/