# Alex Pritchett

> Alex Pritchett is the Durham-based co-founder and chief operating officer of Upswing, an education-technology company built to connect college students with tutoring, advising and other support. His path began with community work at UNC-Chapel Hill, continued through nights spent building software beside a day job, and turned on a modest $600 Durham Public Schools pilot that gave the founders their first proof that an institution would pay for their idea.

- **Role:** COO & Co-Founder at Upswing
- **Organizations:** Upswing, Community Empowerment Fund
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS, Business Administration and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Upswing and helped grow it from a 60-student school pilot into a platform reported in 2024 to have reached more than 800,000 students nationwide., Helped launch the Community Empowerment Fund while at UNC-Chapel Hill and built its early small-business incubation program., Received an NC IDEA grant for Upswing in 2014.

## Career timeline

- **2009-2012** — Helped launch the Community Empowerment Fund and served as Small Business Incubation Program Coordinator, designing business-education courses and coordinating student consultants.
- **2012** — Began developing the idea that became Upswing with Melvin Hines in a spare room of their shared house.
- **2013** — Co-founded Upswing; completed a $600 Durham Public Schools pilot for 60 high-school students and joined Groundwork Labs.
- **2014** — Joined the Tech Wildcatters accelerator in Dallas; Upswing later received an NC IDEA grant and became a United Way GroundFloor fellow.
- **2017** — Upswing had raised $3 million in venture funding by year-end.
- **2019** — Upswing was serving more than 80 education institutions and making its tools available to about 700,000 students.
- **2024** — Upswing reported reaching more than 800,000 students nationwide and secured a $2.6 million investment from Social Finance's UP Fund.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Upswing and helped grow it from a 60-student school pilot into a platform reported in 2024 to have reached more than 800,000 students nationwide.
- Helped launch the Community Empowerment Fund while at UNC-Chapel Hill and built its early small-business incubation program.
- Received an NC IDEA grant for Upswing in 2014.
- Participated in Tech Wildcatters and Groundwork Labs during Upswing's early development.
- Selected for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas GroundFloor fellowship in 2014.
- Represented Upswing in BBVA Momentum's inaugural United States cohort of social entrepreneurs.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Shared Upswing's webinar on early-term student engagement and proactive outreach.
- **2025-10** — Promoted Upswing's participation in the International College Learning Center Association conference.
- **2024-04** — Upswing announced a $2.6 million investment from Social Finance's UP Fund to expand support for students outside the traditional 18-to-22-year-old profile.

## Links

- Website: https://upswing.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexpritchett
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/alexpritchett

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alex-pritchett
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27