Nick Suwyn

Nick Suwyn's entrepreneurial journey began while leading the academic team for a local coding bootcamp in 2017. He recognized the potential of affordable tech education and set out to develop an education delivery model. He started by teaching small groups of students in his living room and worked to scale his efforts from there.

In 2018, Suwyn founded Promineo Tech and, joined by Nick Barraclough, expanded the company's operations. They established partnerships with community colleges, offering coding bootcamps as an educational service offering. By packaging their programs and partnering with colleges across the U.S., Promineo Tech became a leading provider of coding bootcamps for community colleges worldwide.

“When I think about the most important risk I’ve taken, one instance always rises to the top. When I started Promineo Tech, it was not my full-time job,” Suwyn said. “I bootstrapped the company while working as a software engineer until the traction got to that inflection point where the income couldn’t provide for my family alone, but I also couldn’t keep my day job if I wanted Promineo Tech to reach the potential I knew it had. So, I took out some personal loans to fund the company, buying myself 12 months to either really make something happen or to go back to work in tech and pay off my new debt. I’m grateful it worked out, as that risk has led to thousands of people gaining access to life-changing tech education through Promineo Tech.”

Suwyn has a bachelor's degree in computer information systems from DeVry University. In high school, he showcased his competitive spirit by winning a state championship in wrestling, perhaps foreshadowing his future business drive.

Under Suwyn's leadership, Promineo Tech has quadrupled its business each of the past three years. The company's commitment to inclusivity is evident in its higher enrollment of traditionally underrepresented populations in computer science fields, the company said.

One of Suwyn's key successes was developing Education Delivery Optimization, a process that drives down the cost of delivering education through operational efficiencies. This innovation has allowed Promineo Tech to provide affordable coding bootcamps and expand into other high-demand industries.

Suwyn has been published in publications such as Forbes, Higher Education Digest, and CXO Outlook. He has also made guest appearances on radio shows and television news channels, sharing his insights and expertise. In acknowledgment of his entrepreneurial achievements, the City of Peoria honored Suwyn as a Hometown Hero in the entrepreneurship category.