# Eric Schneider

> Eric Schneider is the New York-based co-founder and co-CEO of AKKO, a device protection business serving consumers and distribution partners. A Virginia Tech mechanical engineering graduate and Harvard MBA, he previously worked at GE Aviation, L.E.K. Consulting and venture studio 25madison. He also founded Grad Mentors, a nonprofit offering free GMAT and GRE mentoring to accepted applicants facing barriers to graduate education.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Co-CEO at AKKO
- **Organizations:** AKKO, Grad Mentors, GE Aviation, L.E.K. Consulting, 25madison
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Founded the free graduate-test mentoring nonprofit Grad Mentors, which had matched mentees in more than 25 countries by 2022., Co-founded AKKO and helped develop its consumer and partner device protection businesses., AKKO acquired Upsie in 2024, announcing a combined repair footprint of more than 3,000 locations.

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Graduated from Virginia Tech in mechanical engineering and entered GE’s Edison engineering program.
- **Before business school; exact start date unconfirmed** — Moved from GE Aviation into management and strategy consulting at L.E.K. Consulting.
- **2017** — Founded Grad Mentors; his LinkedIn profile dates the founding role to November 2017.
- **2020** — Worked in venture building and early-stage investing at New York venture studio 25madison during his Harvard studies.
- **2020** — Met Jared Brier through a Facebook business group during the pandemic and joined forces on AKKO, according to Virginia Tech’s alumni profile.
- **2021** — AKKO’s founders discussed a roughly $3 million seed round backed by Fika Ventures and Pear VC in September.
- **2021** — Graduated from Harvard Business School in December.
- **2023** — Discussed underwriting, claims ownership and partner distribution on The Real Maxime Podcast on October 26.
- **2024** — AKKO announced its acquisition of Upsie on April 16.
- **2025** — AKKO launched EDU Hub in September and announced distribution relationships with Ingram Micro in November and 3Eye Technologies in December.
- **2026** — AKKO ranked No. 22 in the inaugural Hokie 100, celebrated on September 2.

## Achievements

- Founded the free graduate-test mentoring nonprofit Grad Mentors, which had matched mentees in more than 25 countries by 2022.
- Co-founded AKKO and helped develop its consumer and partner device protection businesses.
- AKKO acquired Upsie in 2024, announcing a combined repair footprint of more than 3,000 locations.
- AKKO was selected among Plug and Play’s Top 15 P&C Insurtech companies in 2023.
- AKKO ranked No. 22 on the 2026 Hokie 100 list of growing alumni-led companies.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — AKKO placed No. 22 in the inaugural Hokie 100, which celebrated alumni-led companies on September 2, 2026.
- **2025-12** — AKKO announced a distribution partnership with 3Eye Technologies on December 9.
- **2025-11** — AKKO announced an alliance with Ingram Micro on November 26.
- **2025-09** — AKKO launched EDU Hub for school device protection administration on September 19.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-david-schneider

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eric-schneider
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24