About Nick

The Thomley Family:  Mason, Angela, and Nick

Nick was born in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and was the first born of three boys.  When Nick was three years old his parents moved to Maple Grove, Minnesota where Nick grew up.  It was during high school that Nick met his future wife, Angela.  The two have been together since.

Nick graduated from public high school and two weeks later left for Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego.  Following boot camp Nick became a member of a reserve unit at Fort Snelling.  Nick attended college where he studied organizational management and communication and received a Bachelors of Arts degree.  While attending college Nick worked at a home for people with disabilities.  It was at this job that he decided to start a business of his own.

Passionate about making a difference in the lives of others, Nick founded Pinnacle Services in 1999 at the age of 19 to provide housing services to people with developmental disabilities.  As the company has grown Nick has broadened the scope of serving people with disabilities to include people with serious and persistent mental illness, traumatic brain injuries and seniors. 

Nick’s desire for continuing his education drew him to enroll in a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program in 2005, which he completed in less than two years.  Nick was also accepted in to “The Birthing of Giants” three-year executive entrepreneurship program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Today, Pinnacle Services and its affiliated companies serve over 1,000 disabled individuals and seniors and have a range of services that includes, housing, financial management, in-home services and employment services.  Pinnacle Services and its affiliates employ over three hundred people in the State of Minnesota and are recognized as leaders in their industry. 

In addition to his work at Pinnacle Services, Nick is the co-founder and CFO of Prospect Services, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides support services to parents of children with mental health diagnoses.  He has helped support these parents in their grass roots effort to increase parent leadership and advocacy for children with mental health concerns, something that is the first of its kind in the nation.
Nick has been recognized for his leadership with numerous awards. 

Awards & Recognition

• In June of 2004 Pinnacle Services was named by Entrepreneur magazine and Dunn and Bradstreet as number ninety-three of the one hundred fastest growing new businesses in America.
• In 2006 Nick was recognized by the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal as one of the “Forty Under 40” top business leaders under forty years of age.
• Concordia University, Nick’s alma mater, awarded Nick with The Loma R. Meyer Award for Purposeful Leadership. 
• Nick was also recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the “30 Under 30: America’s Coolest Young Entrepreneurs.” 
• In addition to these honors Nick was recognized by the non-profit organization Winning Workplaces and Fortune Small Business magazine as one of their Best Bosses for 2006. 
• In 2007 Nick and Pinnacle Services was recognized as one of Twin Cities Business magazines Small Business Success Stories.

Nick is an active member in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and is currently serving on the board as the Co-Learning Chair for the chapter.  Nick has served on a number of committees with local and state government as well as advocacy organizations.  He frequently speaks at local, national and international colleges and universities and currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Augsburg College Masters of Business Administration program. 

Nick and Angela have one son, Mason, who is their favorite person in the world.  Nick and Angela are relishing in the joys of being parents and are looking forward to continuing to raise him in our community.