Even before joining a financial technology startup, Michael Pilgreen believed in taking risks and investing long-term — especially when it came to his education and career. For six years, Pilgreen worked in creative production management, specializing in painting, metalworking, and installations. He’d established himself in the art world with large collaborative projects like a mosaic made entirely of sequins for the Chili’s Care Center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and never imagined himself working in a STEM field. But in 2020, when the…
