Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Profiles Alex Kinnier

Profiles · Principals

ProfilePerson

Alex Kinnier

Executive

PPP
Type
Person
Role
Executive
Programs
PPP
Updated

The profile

Co-founder and CEO of Upside (formerly GetUpside), a cash-back retail-promotions platform; an advocacy signatory whose company was a PPP borrower but not a PPP lender or processor.

Identity and role

Alex Kinnier is co-founder and chief executive of Upside, the Washington, D.C. company known until 2022 as GetUpside, which runs a cash-back and retail-promotions platform for fuel, grocery, and restaurant purchases. The company was founded in 2015–2016. Kinnier signed the March 24, 2020 OnDeck-published "Letter to Congress" on behalf of GetUpside.

Biography

Kinnier's LinkedIn profile (self-reported) and Upside's own interview post list a Harvard MBA, product roles at Google, a role at Opower before he co-founded GetUpside. The company's pitch to merchants is cash-back promotions funded by retailers (company materials).

Pandemic relief role

GetUpside was an advocacy signatory only. It is not a lender and originated no relief loans. The signatories asked Treasury to let online and non-bank firms move "upwards of $500 billion" to small businesses and wrote, "We seek no gain from this crisis." GetUpside's stake was its merchant customers: fuel stations, convenience stores and restaurants.

The company also appears in the SBA borrower data as a relief recipient: the loan-level PPP FOIA file lists UPSIDE SERVICES, INC. in Washington, D.C. with a $1,571,300 PPP loan approved on April 15, 2020 by Blue Ridge Bank, National Association, marked paid in full in the 2024-09-30 data.

We found no PPP enforcement action, civil settlement, debarment, or fraud charge involving Kinnier or Upside. The government-program record is a borrower record: Upside Services, Inc. received a PPP loan.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

In April 2022 the company rebranded from GetUpside to Upside and announced a $165 million Series D (about $65 million in equity plus $100 million in debt) led by General Catalyst at a valuation of roughly $1.5 billion (company release and Built In). Kinnier remains chief executive.

Sources held in this archive

Original source documents and archived captures

Sources

Back to top