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Carl Madey has spent much of the past decade working for Uber and Handy, an online marketplace for cleaners. “I spent a lot of time convincing drivers, handymen, and janitors to join the gig economy,” he told TechCrunch. But when the pandemic hit, he saw many people lose their jobs overnight.
He noted that there was a significant shortage of medical assistants, a profession that was recession-proof and offered attractive salaries and benefits. So, Madi (pictured above, center) wondered if he could help janitors become medical assistants.
“When I looked into it, I realized that most of the paths are either trade schools or community colleges,” he said. “It can take up to two years and cost up to $20,000.”
In 2021, he teamed up with Tricia Hobeika (pictured left), who previously worked at Udacity, to found Stepful, an AI-powered online program that trains people for entry-level healthcare jobs such as medical assistants and pharmacy technicians in an average of four months The cost is $2500.
Since then, Stepful has grown from just 50 students in its first year to 30,000 students enrolled in 2024.
Madi says students like the fact that Stepful balances flexibility with structure. Although students can do much of their learning asynchronously and in small amounts on their phones, they must attend a weekly teacher-led class and work in groups. “It’s a more engaging way of teaching,” Maddie said.
After completing online coursework, Stepful automatically matches students with one of 8,000 partner clinics or hospitals across the country for one or two months of hands-on training.
Since there are not enough healthcare workers, employers are keen to train these students, according to Madi. “What they’re saying is, ‘Let’s host these students.’ “We can train them, and then if we like them, we will hire them.”
The company also boasts a 75% graduation rate, which Stepful achieves by having its AI send personalized messages to students who are falling behind. If that doesn’t help get people back on track, a human coach steps in to provide additional motivation. “People can feel supported and cared for, and that we see them,” Madi said.
Students aren’t the only ones flocking to Stepful. The company announced Wednesday that it has raised a $31.5 million Series B led by Oak HC/FT with participation from Y Combinator, Reach Capital, AlleyCorp and others. The funding comes less than nine months after Stepful raised a $12 million Series A round.
“We have seen that there is a huge demand for allied health professionals,” said Vij Chandramouli, partner at Oak HC/FT. In fact, the U.S. health care system is expected to soon have a shortage of up to 3.2 million workers, including allied health professionals such as medical technicians and assistants, as well as nurses and mental health professionals, according to American Hospital Association.
Oak HC/FT looked at other startups that are helping solve the health care worker shortage, but found that staffing companies like Nomad Health have tight gross margins and don’t help increase the supply of professionals, Chandramouli said.
“What we liked about Stepful is that it takes people who work hourly, in most cases, and gets them into the health care field, where they get a steady paycheck and decent benefits,” he said. “They are Smart about how to leverage generative AI.
In other words, by relying on GenAI, Stepful ensures that its metrics look more like a tech company with far fewer humans in the loop than a regular educational program.
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