Alex Pritchett
Durham, North Carolina, United States
2K followers
500+ connections
About
I'm a passionate social entrepreneur, currently immersed in improving the way that…
Articles by Alex
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These radical shifts will define the college experience for the next decade
These radical shifts will define the college experience for the next decade
Colleges are adapting to the new norm of exclusively online classes, but significant structural and cultural changes…
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Opening the gates to a college degree
Opening the gates to a college degree
How Upswing’s recent funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will result in 50,000 retained college students…
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Modeling Other Industries: The Unlikely Pairing of Colleges and Trains
Modeling Other Industries: The Unlikely Pairing of Colleges and Trains
This is part two of a multi-part series called “Modeling Other Industries” which documents some of the key innovations…
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Modeling Other Industries: What the Automobile Industry Can Teach Us About Education
Modeling Other Industries: What the Automobile Industry Can Teach Us About Education
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about innovation and have realized that I often take time to compare Upswing…
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Motivation and Doing Whatever It Takes
Motivation and Doing Whatever It Takes
In college, I had a friend who had a tattoo on his back with the acronym “W.I.
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Ed Tech Acquisitions and the Evolving Education Landscape
Ed Tech Acquisitions and the Evolving Education Landscape
Earlier this summer, it was announced that Chegg had acquired online tutoring company, InstaEDU, for $30 million. As…
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How Online Education Draws Parallels to “The Tortoise and the Hare”
How Online Education Draws Parallels to “The Tortoise and the Hare”
Online courses and instruction (the proverbial hare) Over the past ten years, the growth of students participating in…
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Changing the College Experience through Technology...Making 2+2=5
Changing the College Experience through Technology...Making 2+2=5
Over the past 20 years, we've seen a fundamental shift in the way that all levels of education have adopted technology.…
Activity
2K followers
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Alex Pritchett shared thisWith so many changes recently to funding in higher education, we'll explore ways that colleges are still impacting student success despite uncertain funding sources and limited budget availability. Join us tomorrow to be a part of the conversation and to connect with others who are engaging students proactively through software and human-centered connection!Alex Pritchett shared this⏰ Last chance to register! https://hubs.ly/Q0403npx0 Join Upswing for a data-backed conversation on how colleges can increase student engagement early in the term without increasing staff workload. Learn how timely, “good enough” outreach helps reduce anxiety and build trust when it matters most. 🗓️ February 12, 2026 🕛 12:00 PM ET #Upswing #HigherEd #StudnetEngagement #SudentSuccess
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Alex Pritchett reposted thisAlex Pritchett reposted thisUpswing x International College Learning Center Association If you’re here in South Dakota, stop by my booth and join me for my session on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 9 a.m. for an engaging conversation exploring “A Journey to the Learning Center: A Day in the Life of Today’s College Student.” Let’s make it an amazing week!
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Alex Pritchett reposted thisAlex Pritchett reposted this🚨 Exciting Partnership Announcement! 🚨 Upswing and Single Stop have joined forces to expand access to essential resources for non-traditional and historically marginalized students. This collaboration is designed to remove financial barriers and connect students with the support they need to stay on track—whether it’s food, housing, emergency funding, or other critical services. 💡 “By combining our expertise, we can ensure more students stay on track and achieve their academic and life goals.” – Steven Williams, CEO, Single Stop Learn more about this powerful partnership: https://hubs.ly/Q034wjb70 #Upswing #SingleStop #StudentSuccess #HigherEducation #BasicNeeds #FinancialSupport
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Alex Pritchett shared thisIf you are in Salt Lake this week for the ICLCA, I cannot think of a better person to spend time with than Willie Barnes Jr.!! You'll be doing yourself an injustice if you don't attend his panel or swing by the Upswing booth to meet him!Alex Pritchett shared thisICLCA Conference 2024.. Look forward to meeting everyone!! Upswing + International College Learning Center Association
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Alex Pritchett shared thisSince starting Upswing in 2013, venture debt has always felt like a bit of a white whale, and frankly something that Upswing would never have access to. We were told over and over by traditional banks that growth-stage tech companies without substantial physical assets (which is almost all of them) are too risky for their underwriting team to approve. Over the past few years, I've been extremely encouraged to see a rise in impact-minded organizations like Social Finance who understand that the intersection of social impact and technology doesn't always fit perfectly into the traditional banking system's risk algorithm. The team there, Vinesh Kapil, Lorenzo Finamore, and Andrew Chen have been incredible at deeply understanding our business - especially the opportunities and challenges that we face - and aligning their resources and support with our long-term success. With this funding and through this partnership with Social Finance, we'll continue to improve what student support looks like in higher education, incrementally make the system a bit more inclusive, accessible, and successful for students from all walks of life.Alex Pritchett shared thisWe're excited to announce the latest investment from the Social Finance UP Fund: $2.6 million investment in Upswing, an education technology company providing student support services to colleges serving historically marginalized students—including first-generation students, student parents, veterans, and others outside of the typical 18- to 22-year-old profile. The investment aims to help more students persist in their programs, earn degrees, and enter the workforce. Learn more in our press release: https://lnkd.in/eVVGBb2V Shout-out to the Social Finance team members who helped make this partnership happen: Andrew Chen, Vinesh Kapil, Lorenzo Finamore, Chiara Apici, Abigail Silverman #education #economicmobility #outcomes
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Alex Pritchett reposted thisAlex Pritchett reposted thisHere we go!! The Florida College System June 2024 Meeting.. Look forward to meeting everyone!! Upswing + The Florida College System
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Alex Pritchett reposted thisAlex Pritchett reposted thisWe love hearing about the difference Upswing makes from administrators! Check out this story from Teresa Meehan of Richmond Community College to learn about the ways they use Upswing to support their students on and off campus. 🎓 Watch the full video here: https://hubs.ly/Q02hLgBG0 #upswing #highered #richmondcc #studentsupport #edtech
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Alex Pritchett shared thisIt’s been an incredible week so far having most of my colleagues from Upswing in Durham to connect people and purpose. We’ve been able to connect and align on how we’re going to continue delivering on our mission to help support underserved student populations in higher education. I’m grateful we have incredibly passionate and supportive admins like Lorraina Halls-Taylor to have our team on campus at Shaw University to have conversations directly with staff and students about the issues most prevalent across campus. We’ve heard some really impactful and insightful stories around the need for better mental health support for students, the financial challenges that a private HBCU like Shaw faces, and the need for more writing literacy across college campuses - just to name a few. While the challenges are tough, addressing those challenges is more necessary than ever. 💙🎓Alex Pritchett shared thisThe Upswing Team had an amazing time visiting our partner, Shaw University, yesterday! It was so inspiring to hear from both students and administrators about their journeys, challenges, and experiences using Upswing. Thank you to Lorraina Halls-Taylor for having us! #upswing #shawu #highered #holisticstudentsupport
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Alex Pritchett shared thisI haven’t met anyone as passionate, practical, and motivated by DEI than Janna Allen Hines!! Proud of you for taking this next step in your career, and looking forward to seeing the amazing impact you’re going to make! If you need DEI expertise and want an intro to Janna, please let me know!
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisAlex Pritchett reacted on thisToday I celebrate three years at Upswing! I couldn't be happier to have spent the last three years supporting our partners and their students at a mission-driven organization. We're here to make sure all students get access to the services they need so they can graduate and succeed. That mission is even more critical in today's environment. And what better way to celebrate than with a little fun? Here's a verse inspired by the Destiny's Child hit Independent Women Pt I 😎 The NPS scoring? I got it The renewals closing? I got it The revenue forecasting? I got it The partners happy? I got it The QBR decks? I got it Bringing in those checks? I got it The team Slack emojis? I got it All the CS things? I got it
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisAlex Pritchett reacted on thisToday, Austin lost a legend. 11 years ago I moved across the country to Austin to go through Capital Factory's accelerator. Joshua Baer was a mentor, an early investor in SchooLinks, and one of the first people to make me feel truly at home in Austin's tech community. He had a rare gift for seeing potential in founders before they could see it themselves, and then doing something about it, one founder at a time, making people feel like they had a shot. RIP, Josh.
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisI'm proud to share that Validic has been acquired by ChartSpan Medical Technologies, expanding and accelerating our mission of making personal health data actionable. When we launched in 2013, few in healthcare wanted the data coming from your wrist or your home. We spent the next thirteen years helping change that. Validic was a bet that everyday sensors would improve and become indispensable to healthcare. The thesis is stronger now than it has ever been: the most important and predictive signals about your health often show up between provider visits, not during them. Whereas Validic built the infrastructure to capture these signals, ChartSpan built the scaled clinical services to act on them. Together, we offer a more complete model of care that meets patients where they are, delivering better outcomes and lowering costs. I'm energized to build it alongside Christine Hawkins, Jon-Michial Carter, and the ChartSpan team. The outstanding, mission-driven Validic team will keep building with us, including Brian Carter, Frank Rydzewski, and Jordan Bowlus. We will continue providing the personal health data solutions the industry needs to deliver better, more proactive care, now more complete with clinical enablement and chronic condition management services. I'm proud of this team, everything we have accomplished, and eager to help even more people get the care they deserve!Alex Pritchett reacted on thisChartSpan Acquires Validic to Become the Clinical Services, Device and Infrastructure Leader for Data-Driven Care ChartSpan has acquired Validic, combining personalized clinical services and expert care teams with Validic’s advanced data infrastructure and device ecosystem to power data-driven care management at scale. This acquisition empowers ChartSpan to turn data into action: reviewing patients’ health insights and responding to them with thoughtful, customized care management services to help patients manage their conditions and take control of their health outcomes. Together, ChartSpan and Validic will bring healthcare organizations data-driven: Care Management Services Remote Patient Monitoring Custom Care Management ChartSpan will also offer organizations the API data pipelines, software and devices required to access remote patient data. ChartSpan is proud to welcome Validic employees to the ChartSpan team. Their deep data expertise, combined with our clinical focus, will help us create highly informed patient journeys, where data insights become clinical action. Read the press release in the first comment. #RemotePatientMonitoring #RPM #CareManagement #CCM #DigitalHealth #HealthTech #HealthcareInnovation #ValueBasedCare Christine Hawkins Jon-Michial Carter Drew Schiller
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisAlex Pritchett reacted on this“You’ve got it figured out” People often say this to me when I meet them on a conference call or in the wild. I have a simplified life compared to many and I feel it too. Freedom is “the dream” and I feel freer than ever. My daughter Julia gave me this gift. The magnitude of her loss is beyond words and my belief is that she wanted me to, and wants me to, live my best life. What it has meant and done for me is to provide a release somehow to make significant life choices. I moved to Austin, bought an Airstream, and live in the best location in town for access to things I love to do. I’ve recognized the power to lean in, to saying "Yes" to whatever, and that has taken me places. It has provided me with experiences and relationships that I otherwise would not have had. In my work I do my best every day to compassionately listen and give my all in supporting the people who I talk to. This is natural to me and everything I do. Across all my practices this belief resonates with me most. I need to do better in my personal life. I “leave it on the field” in my work. It takes a lot out of me, but I now want to give it to my friends and family.
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisWe can't wait to see everyone at this year's Equity in Education virtual conference on June 25. Attendance is completely free, so register below and see you there!Alex Pritchett reacted on thisHow can AI make writing support more personalized, equitable, and scalable? At Equity in Education 2026, Dr. Ritu Sharma and Ramona Anand will share how AI can support student writing through real-time feedback, adaptive guidance, and targeted interventions, especially for students historically underserved by traditional support models. Join us on June 25 to learn how institutions can use AI insights to close literacy gaps and strengthen equitable student support. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dMaCeqVt #Upswing #HigherEd #StudentSuccess #StudentRetention #EquityInEducation #AIinHigherEd
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Alex Pritchett liked thisAlex Pritchett liked this🛎️We rang the closing bell at the NASDAQ 🛎️ Serval is #1 on the Enterprise Tech 30, and a few weeks ago we were invited to Nasdaq to celebrate. A first for Serval (and me). I don't think any of us expected to be here this quickly. The Enterprise Tech 30 is the most respected ranking in our industry. Every year, close to 100 venture capitalists from 80+ firms evaluate more than 15,000 venture-backed enterprise tech companies and decide which ones they believe in most. In our world, it's THE list. We started Serval because IT teams deserve better than the tools they've been stuck with. AI agents are changing what's possible and we are the forefront of this. I’m so grateful for the recognition, and more grateful to the team who’s done the hard work. Thank you to Jake Stauch, Alex McLeod, and the whole Serval team… you are such a special group of people 💛 We are just getting started. (Link to Newcomer's assessment in comments!)
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisI can finally share the news! Six Wing Studios is officially a winner of a Unity for Humanity grant! I can't wait to get down to work applying 6 years of feedback, experience, and study to expand the reach and impact and Amaru with our expanded remake. Thank you so much and congrats to our fellow winners and honorable mentions! Arizona State University, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management - University of California, Santa Barbara, University of San Martin, Khayalan Arts, Patouch, Buckinghamshire Health Research & Innovation, Talofa, GRASSROOTS INDIGENOUS MULTIMEDIA, Charles Games s.r.o., Limbitless Solutions, Organized Khaos Studios, Mindflight7Alex Pritchett reacted on thisWe are beyond thrilled to announce the official winners of the 2026 Unity for Humanity grant 🏆 These visionary creators are using the power of real-time 3D to build a brighter, more inclusive world, and we couldn’t be more inspired by their work. 🔗 Learn more about the winning projects: https://lnkd.in/gvZaGrsG #Unity #UnityForHumanity
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Alex Pritchett reacted on thisAlex Pritchett reacted on thisWe are excited to announce Dr. Shmona Simpson as this years Equity in Education's keynote speaker! Dr. Simpson, Founder and CEO of Paritii, is a leading expert in helping organizations understand and mitigate bias in AI systems. Her innovative frameworks simplify complex administrative workflows and empower institutions, advisors, and students to navigate higher ed with clarity and confidence. 📣 Stay tuned for more details on the session. 👉 Join us on June 25 to hear from Dr. Simpson and explore what’s shaping the future of student success: https://hubs.ly/Q04ggWZS0 #Upswing #HigherEd #AIinEducation #StudentSuccess #EquityInEducation
Experience
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Education
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Activities and Societies: The Community Empowerment Fund, Los Caballeros, Circle K, Undergraduate Investment Club
Volunteer Experience
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Small Business Incubation Program Coordinator
The Community Empowerment Fund
- 2 years 9 months
Poverty Alleviation
In the summer of 2009, I was one of seven students to start up the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), a student-run microfinance organization in Chapel Hill, NC. Initially, the organization was focused on distributing zero-interest loans to individuals at risk of homelessness who needed capital to start a business and/or get back on their feet. We worked with these clients to help them improve certain life skills, such as finance, wellness, and legal matters, over the duration of their loan…
In the summer of 2009, I was one of seven students to start up the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), a student-run microfinance organization in Chapel Hill, NC. Initially, the organization was focused on distributing zero-interest loans to individuals at risk of homelessness who needed capital to start a business and/or get back on their feet. We worked with these clients to help them improve certain life skills, such as finance, wellness, and legal matters, over the duration of their loan payback period.
As the Small Business Incubation Program Coordinator, I was responsible for the design and implementation of the small business incubation program at CEF as well as the coordination of the student volunteer business consultants. This involved design of weekly courses on small business education, ranging from business plan creation to financial bookkeeping. I also helped to orchestrate the growth of the small business incubation program within CEF. -
Founder, Program Coordinator
Los Caballeros
- 1 year 10 months
Education
As a student at UNC, I started up Los Caballeros, an after-school mentoring program for Latino youth at McDougle Middle School in Carrboro, NC. By leading a team of student volunteers, Los Caballeros was able to help students in both academic (math, english and science tutoring) and personal (cooking, basic engineering, communication) development. This program was instrumental in providing much needed support to students that often did not have access to adequate resources or support systems…
As a student at UNC, I started up Los Caballeros, an after-school mentoring program for Latino youth at McDougle Middle School in Carrboro, NC. By leading a team of student volunteers, Los Caballeros was able to help students in both academic (math, english and science tutoring) and personal (cooking, basic engineering, communication) development. This program was instrumental in providing much needed support to students that often did not have access to adequate resources or support systems outside of school.
Honors & Awards
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NC Idea Grant Recipient
NC Idea Fund
Upswing's growth of its student success platform led to winning the NC Idea grant for the fall of 2014. At the time, Upswing had been working with five institutions of higher education to focus on academic-related attrition. The grant served as a catalyst for further expansion into additional colleges throughout the southeastern United States.
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United Way GroundFloor Fellow
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Upswing became the first for-profit entity to receive funding from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas for its impact in student achievement and persistence throughout Texas. With the fellowship, Upswing was able to leverage its software platform to begin impacting student success throughout the community of metropolitan Dallas.
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Tech Wildcatters 2014 Graduate
Tech Wildcatters
Accepted into the prestigious Tech Wildcatters accelerator program in Dallas, TX. Recognized as a top 10 accelerator by Forbes and TechCrunch, Tech Wildcatters provides the financial and intellectual resources necessary to help early stage companies succeed.
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Groundwork Labs Fall 2013 Graduate
Groundwork Labs via Idea Fund
Participated in the early-stage tech incubator in Durham, NC. Groundwork Labs helps very early stage companies validate business concepts and find product-market fit.
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James M. Johnston Academic Scholar
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Received a full academic scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The James M. Johnston scholarship is based on academic and extracurricular achievement.
Languages
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Spanish
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