About Nitin Pradhan — Former Federal CIO | ScaleUp USA Federal Business Accelerator

Nitin Pradhan — Founder of ScaleUp USA Federal Business Accelerator, Former US Federal CIO and Presidential Appointee

25+

Years led

$3.5B

Portfolio

7+

Courses

1000s

Trained

LinkedIn → Udemy Courses

The Founder

Nitin Pradhan

Founder & CEO, ScaleUp USA Federal Business Accelerator
Former US Federal CIO · Presidential Appointee

Nitin Pradhan is one of the rare practitioners with senior leadership experience spanning local, state, and federal government — plus the private sector. This isn't theoretical knowledge. It's 25+ years of working inside the systems, managing the budgets, and watching who wins — and why.

As Federal CIO of the US Department of Transportation, Nitin led IT strategy for a $3.5 billion annual portfolio with over 3,000 IT employees and 10,000+ contractors across 200+ major transportation technology systems.

He met hundreds of federal vendors every year — from billion-dollar primes to solo consultants. He watched some do extraordinarily well and others fail despite having great products. The difference, almost always, was training. ScaleUp USA was built to close that gap.

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Federal CIO — US Department of Transportation

Led $3.5B annual IT portfolio · 3,000+ IT employees · 10,000+ contractors · 200+ systems

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Managing Director — Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology

Technology-based economic development for the Commonwealth of Virginia

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IT Executive — Fairfax County Public Schools

10th largest school district in the United States

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Federal Growth Advisor — Zoom & New Relic

Helped scale both companies — both now publicly traded

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Top-Rated Udemy Instructor — 7+ Expert Courses

Thousands of students trained globally on government contracting

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Education: BS Engineering · MBA Marketing · MS Accounting

Mentor at Mach 37 cybersecurity accelerator, Washington DC

The Mission

Why ScaleUp USA Exists

Less than 1% of US businesses participate in federal contracting. That's not a market limitation — it's a knowledge gap. ScaleUp USA was built to close it.

$700^B

Annual federal contracts & grants

<1^%

Of US businesses currently compete

23^%

Legally mandated for small business

2^%

ScaleUp USA's participation goal

ScaleUp USA's mission is to increase US business participation in federal contracting from under 1% to 2% — doubling the number of businesses that benefit from this massive, legally accessible marketplace.

Career Highlights

Three Levels of Government. One Unique Perspective.

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Federal Government

Presidential Appointee and Federal CIO, US DOT. Led IT strategy for a $3.5B annual portfolio with 3,000+ IT employees, 10,000+ contractors, and 200+ major transportation systems.

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State Government

Managing Director of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) — focused on technology-based economic development and growing technology companies across the Commonwealth.

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Local Government

IT Executive at Fairfax County Public Schools — the 10th largest school district in the United States. Managed technology infrastructure and strategy for hundreds of thousands of students.

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Entrepreneur & Advisor

Founded Launch Dream LLC and ScaleUp USA. As a federal growth advisor, helped scale Zoom and New Relic — both now publicly traded companies. Managing Partner at GOVonomy.

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Educator & Instructor

Top-rated Udemy instructor with 7+ expert courses on government contracting, federal careers, proposal writing, teaming, B2G sales, and program management. Thousands of students trained globally.

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Speaker & Thought Leader

Keynote speaker and board member at major business-technology organizations. Mentor at Mach 37, the premium cybersecurity accelerator in Washington DC. Regular author and speaker on AI in government.

Learn from the Insider

Start with the free intro course and get the perspective that only comes from someone who has been on both sides of the federal contracting table.

Join the Accelerator Free → View All Courses

Built by Someone Who's Been Inside Government at Every Level