Our Journey With Stepful
Reach has been with us since day one. They’re the kind of investors who say ‘we’ when they talk about Stepful. They’ve been true partners, helping us shape the business and supporting us in every way possible.
Thesis
The U.S. healthcare system is grappling with an intensifying workforce crisis. By 2028, the U.S. will face a deficit of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, putting entire care systems at risk. Traditional training programs are too slow, expensive, and inaccessible to keep pace. We believed there was an opportunity to reimagine this model with a faster, more affordable, and digitally delivered pathway — partnering directly with health systems to recruit, train, and retain staff. Stepful is building the most scalable and durable talent pipeline to address one of the most urgent challenges in healthcare today.
Team Conviction
Our conviction started with the founding team’s unique blend of mission and execution. Carl Madi had proven his ability to scale marketplace operations rapidly during his time at Uber, Tressia Hobeika brought deep expertise in online education and learner-centered product design from her time at Udacity, and Edoardo Serra added technical expertise from scaling Siri at Apple.
Together, they combined operational excellence, pedagogical expertise, and technical rigor to design programs that meet adult learners where they are — mobile-first, affordable, and career-aligned — graduating students five times faster than traditional schools at a fraction of the cost. Their relentless focus on learner experience and outcomes have built a transformative solution for healthcare training.
Impact to Date
Stepful offers educational training programs for both entry-level positions, including medical assistants, medical admins, and pharmacy technicians, and upskilling programs for licensed practical nurses and surgical technicians. Unlike other trade schools, Stepful is a AI-powered learning platform with its accelerated format, lower costs and placement for students who successfully complete the program. To date, the company has seen strong growth in its DTC business, with nearly 30,000 enrollees projected for this year alone. With this new funding, Stepful will expand its B2B offering and continue growing its health system partnerships.
Stepful’s approach has yielded industry-leading outcomes, including an 87% NHA CCMA exam pass rate—ten points higher than the national average—and a 75% completion rate. Stepful currently serves 30,000 monthly active students and boasts a network of over 8,000 healthcare partners where students complete hands-on clinical training.
How We Supported Stepful’s Journey
- Worked closely to support subsequent fundraising rounds, helping with diligence materials, and making high-value introductions.
- Lent our educational expertise to strengthen curriculum design and wraparound student support.
- Shared our market research on the healthcare education sector to inform strategic direction.
- Introduced key hires
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