The document reflects on investments made by Reach Capital in edtech companies since 2017 based on three impact theses: improving instruction, increasing access and student success, and enhancing career readiness. It provides updates on trends in higher education, reflections on the original investment theses, and impact stories from portfolio companies. The goal is to assess the progress that has been made as well as opportunities for future impact in making college degrees more accessible and beneficial.

1. Higher Ed Impact Report
REFLECTING ON HOW OUR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
HAVE IMPACTED THE SECTOR SINCE 2017
1

2. What’s Inside | 2
▸ About This Report 4
▸ About Reach 6
▸ Reach’s Approach to Impact 7
Introduction 3
▸ Trends to Watch 46
▸ Student Success 47
▸ Connections & Community 48
▸ Career Pathways 49
▸ Future-Readiness 50
Looking Forward 45
▸ Investment Theses 2017 9
▸ Times Have Changed 11
Continuing Trends 12
Macro Shifts 14
▸ Reflecting on our Theses 18
▸ Instructional Improvement 21
▸ Access and Student Success 28
▸ Career Readiness 35
Looking Back 8
WHAT’S INSIDE

3. Introduction
3

4. 4
Reach made its first higher ed investment in 2015. In those
days, we were compelled by data showing that a college
degree was the most reliable path toward economic mobility
and that degree attainment was highly skewed toward those
with high socioeconomic status. We believed that technology
could make college degrees more accessible to people across
the economic spectrum.
By 2017, we articulated our impact thesis: technology can be
used to make 2- and 4-year degrees more accessible through
improved (1) instruction, (2) student access and success, and
(3) career readiness.
About This Report | 4
ABOUT THIS REPORT
Across four funds, we made 14 core investments aligned to
these theses. We created this impact report to reflect on the
change we had hoped to see and that we saw, in the sector.
Over the past seven years, our idealism and optimism have
been tempered by the immense on-the-ground changes that
higher education institutions face: the after-effects of a
global pandemic, a shifting macro-environment, and the
unleashing of generative AI into the world. That said,
higher-ed institutions and edtech innovators still found ways
to have impact and make progress. What lessons have we
learned, and how can we prepare ourselves for the future?
What opportunities for impact lay ahead?

5. We believe that education
can improve access to life’s
best opportunities.
We believe that in the right hands,
technology can make high-quality
learning experiences accessible to
more people.
We aim to extend the reach
of opportunity so that people
traditionally left behind can have
a shot at their best life.
5
ABOUT REACH
About Reach | 5

6. Founded in 2015, Reach Capital is a
thesis-driven, early-stage edtech
investor. The founding partners have
been investing together since 2008, well
before edtech was a popular investment
category. While our roots are in K-12, we
now invest in learning from birth to
workforce.
Our varied life experiences and education
expertise help us identify pressing
barriers to learning and opportunity. We
examine societal trends, market drivers,
and emerging technologies to identify
opportunities for impact at scale. These
opportunities become impact theses
which guide our investment strategy.
We are founders, classroom teachers,
parents, and lifelong learners. We are
immigrants and first-gen college
graduates. We have as many former
educators as MBAs on our team. We are
the most diverse team in venture capital.
Our History Thesis-driven Investing
Our Team
Reach Capital Partners
About Reach | 6
ABOUT REACH

7. REACH’S APPROACH TO IMPACT
As early stage investors, we believe impact is a journey.
Reach’s Approach to Impact | 7
Low to moderately priced
More accessible than status quo No cost to learners
User love or measured outcomes
High-quality design User love and measured outcomes
Product market fit
Pre-product market fit Scaled
We track progress and look for opportunities to increase impact along three dimensions:
Reach invests in founders and works with them to get high-quality products to as many learners as possible.
SCALE
How many are impacted
ACCESS
How accessible is the solution
QUALITY
Indicators that the product delivers on its promises

8. Looking Back
8

9. In 2017, Reach identified
three levers to help more
learners attain and benefit
from a college degree.
Access and
Student Success
Instructional
Improvement
Career
Readiness
INVESTMENT THESES 2017
Investment Theses 2017 | 9

10. Career Readiness
Instructional Improvement
Gradescope
WriteLab
Aula
Riipen
PeopleGrove
Replit
Handshake
Investment Theses 2017 | 10
Derivita
FourthRev
Springboard
Transition to careers
Building career skills
Stellic
Mainstay
Campus
Access and Student Support
Class
INVESTMENT THESES 2017
We made 14 core investments
aligned to our theses.
12 are featured in this report.
Not featured in this report

11. 11
Since 2017, not only did
concerning higher ed trends
continue, the macro
environment shifted.
Times Have Changed | 11
Times Have Changed | 11
TIMES HAVE CHANGED

12. 12
CONTINUING TRENDS
The cost of attending college
continues to rise, making college
increasingly unaffordable
12
Times Have Changed | 12
NORC
3 of 4 U.S. adults agree:
Americans don’t go to
college because they
can’t afford it
$19k
$26k
$32k
$38k
$44k
$11k
$16k
$22k
$25k
$28k
$4k
$7k
$9k
$11k $12k
Average yearly tuition continues to climb
PRIVATE
OUT-OF-STATE
IN-STATE
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
US NEWS

13. CONTINUING TRENDS
The perceived value of college
continues to decline
Most Americans believe college is not worth the cost
2013 2023
2017
53%
49%
42%
40%
47%
56%
COLLEGE NOT WORTH THE COST
COLLEGE IS WORTH THE COST
Times Have Changed | 13
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
WALL ST. JOURNAL - NORC

14. MACRO SHIFTS
The broader U.S. economy is
facing an historic labor shortage
Job openings in the United States are still high
2014
3.9M
Times Have Changed | 14
2016 2018 2020 2022
2012
4.1M
6.0M
6.6M
7.2M
11.5M
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

15. MACRO SHIFTS
As many colleges made tests
optional for admissions, many
employers are making college
degrees optional
Fewer jobs require a 4-year degree
51% 44%
2017 2021
Many large employers are dropping degree requirements
PUBLIC
SECTOR
Times Have Changed | 15
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
THE BURNING GLASS INSTITUTE via NYTIMES
Maryland Pennsylvania Utah
PRIVATE
SECTOR

16. 2019 2021 2022
315K
550K
657K
MACRO SHIFTS
Workers have more options to
learn in-demand career skills
outside of traditional 4-year
degree programs
Growing number of credentials from non-academic providers
375K
410K
448K
505K 534K
585K
633K 637K
594K
Active apprentices
Includes occupational licenses, certifications, apprenticeships,
bootcamps, and digital badges
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Times Have Changed | 16
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
U.S. DEPT. OF LABOR
CREDENTIAL ENGINE 2019 | 2021 | 2022

17. 43%
14%
MACRO SHIFTS
The rapid advancement
of generative AI will force
colleges to revisit what and
how students learn
Times Have Changed | 17
+5 DAYS
+2 MONTHS
ChatGPT launched
Reached 1M users (fastest ever)
Reached 100M users (100x)
11/30/22
AS OF
MARCH ’23
% of college students
have used ChatGPT
% of faculty who say admin
has guidance on AI usage
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
PRIMARY RESEARCH GROUP
BEST COLLEGES
REUTERS

18. 18
While HEIs have made
incremental improvements,
they have been slow to
respond to these
ground-shifting conditions
REFLECTING ON OUR THESES
Reflecting on Our Theses | 18

19. While HEIs have leveraged
technology to improve college
access and success, the
classroom learning experience is
largely unchanged
No adoption Full adoption
TECH ADOPTION CURVE
INNOVATORS EARLY
ADOPTERS
EARLY
MAJORITY
LATE
MAJORITY
LAGGARDS
REFLECTING ON OUR THESES
Access and
Student Support
Instructional
Improvement
Career
Readiness
Reflecting on Our Theses | 19
Desired teaching
practices
Developing career
skills

20. 20
IMPACT BY COMPANY
INNOVATION DRIVERS
USER STORIES
Reflecting on Our Theses | 20
HOW HIGHER ED HAS CHANGED
REFLECTING ON OUR THESES
We’ll take a deeper look
at each thesis and will reflect
on four areas:

21. THESIS 2017
Technology can be used to improve
students’ learning experience,
increase engagement, and improve
learning outcomes
Instructional
Improvement
Instructional Improvement | 21

22. NOW
THEN
22
REACH REFLECTIONS
While the pandemic drove adoption of remote learning and
online resources, we saw limited uptake of effective
teaching practices such as active- and social learning.
Many barriers stand in the way of widespread adoption.
Solutions that enable hands-on projects and learning
communities require significant behavior change, even the
complete redesign of courses. Additional challenges
include fragmented faculty and instructor training efforts
and lack of time, priority, funding, and reliable course
feedback.
Reach found some success with solutions that
incrementally improve learning while also saving
instructors time. Gradescope, Derivita, and WriteLab
streamline the grading process while providing timely,
high-quality, personalized feedback.
HOW HIGHER ED HAS CHANGED
Instructional Improvement
37%
BAYVIEW ANALYTICS
FACULTY USE OF
ONLINE HOMEWORK
SYSTEM
43%
NCES 2016
STUDENTS TAKING AT
LEAST ONE DISTANCE
ED COURSE 2015-2016
67%
74%
NCES 2022
6%
BAYVIEW ANALYTICS
FACULTY USE OF OER
22%
2022
2020
2016
2017
2022
2018
INNOVATORS
LATE MAJORITY
Desired teaching practices
Online learning and homework
ADOPTION CURVES
Instructional Improvement | 22

23. REACH INVESTMENTS INNOVATION DRIVERS
Sound pedagogy, with
less instructor effort
Designed by
instructors for
instructors
Targeted, responsible
use of AI
High-quality, timely,
feedback to students
on writing, science,
engineering and math
assignments.
WRITELAB
GRADESCOPE
Founded by Ph.D.
student Matthew
Ramirez and professor
Don McQuade in
English at UC Berkeley
AI-driven writing
feedback about
grammar, logic, clarity
and concision
Founded by Arjun Singh
and Sergey Karayev,
doctoral students and
professor Pieter Abbeel
in CS at UC Berkeley
AI-assisted grading
reads handwritten text
and math notation and
can automatically
group similar answers
ALL INVESTMENTS
Instructional Improvement | 23
REACH PORTFOLIO INFLUENCE
Instructional Improvement

24. After learning about Gradescope from a computer
science faculty member five years ago, Michael’s team
at Duke Learning Innovation ran a pilot to explore its
usage to other departments. Initial uptake was gradual
but took off as faculty and teaching assistants found
that they could grade a wide variety of assessments for
different subjects faster and fairer — and get precious
time back. Today it is used in over 100 departments
across the university.
“By enabling more equitable grading environments where
multiple graders can grade many students consistently and
quickly, [Gradescope] has become a core tool in many faculty’s
edtech arsenal. ”
Each semester Amber teaches 90 students across several
math sections and sees a wide range of competencies.
Drawing on Derivita’s bank of editable assessment items,
she modifies questions to fit their needs, and sometimes
manually codes her own questions. This comes in handy
as she updates materials to keep up with research-based
pedagogical changes in the field. This ability to fine-tune
assignments, combined with the immediate feedback for
students, has led others in the department to switch from
their previous math homework system.
“The question bank keeps getting bigger and better making
assessment assembly so easy. Students also appreciate knowing
right away if their work is correct.”
Amber Hansen
Instructor, Developmental Mathematics
Weber State University
Michael Greene
Assoc. Director, Learning Technology Services
Duke University
Instructional Improvement USER STORIES
Instructional Improvement | 24

25. Math assignment and
assessment platform
Devlin Daley
Founded
2015, Sandy, UT
Total Funds Raised
$8.3M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2020
Reach Funds
Reach II
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
of students served by higher ed
customers receive Pell grants
colleges and
universities
39
Pre-product market fit
44%
Accessible through colleges
User love
DESIGN DESIGN USER LOVE
Provides students
immediate, insightful
feedback
7k+
higher ed
students
Designed to connect
curriculum, instruction, and
assessment
Ryan Brown
Instructional Improvement IMPACT BY COMPANY
Impact Thesis: Current solutions for online math are outdated.
Derivita developed a new computational language that enables
improved online interaction with math, enabling highly personalized
feedback for students that leads to improved math outcomes.
Instructional Improvement | 25
use Derivita
weekly
50%
use Derivita at
least once a month
72%
K-12 users not included in these figures

26. AI-powered grading platform
Arjun Singh
Founded
2014, Berkeley, CA
Total Funds Raised
$4.9M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2016
Reach Funds
Reach I
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Broad usage - representative of
U.S. college student population
students
3.6M
Scaled Accessible through colleges
User love
DESIGN USER LOVE MEASURED OUTCOMES
usefulness score from
656 reviews
Grades paper-based, digital,
and code assignments in half
the time
2.6k
educational
institutions
Designed to provide timely,
consistent, and meaningful
feedback to students when
grading
Sergey Karayev
Instructional Improvement IMPACT BY COMPANY
Impact Thesis: Gradescope streamlines the grading process, saving
TAs time while ensuring grading fairness, consistency and accuracy.
The solution enables more frequent use of open-ended questions
and timely, high-quality feedback for students.
Instructional Improvement | 26
4.8 / 5
Featured Customers
Ibrahim Awwal
Pieter Abbeel
Acquired by Turnitin

27. AI-powered writing feedback
Founded
2013, Berkeley, CA
Total Funds Raised
$3.7M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2015
Reach Funds
Reach I
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
$10/month subscription for Chegg writing
students use Chegg Writing
6M
Scaled Moderately priced
High-quality design
DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN
Partnership with Purdue
University Online Writing Lab
Automated grammar feedback
with 90% accuracy
Embedded pedagogy and
practices of National Writing
Project
Instructional Improvement IMPACT BY COMPANY
Impact Thesis: WriteLab’s AI-driven writing feedback embeds
pedagogy and practices from the National Writing Project, enabling
students to receive frequent, automated feedback on their writing,
grounded in best-in-class writing instruction. We invested in
WriteLab to democratize access to great writing feedback.
Instructional Improvement | 27
Donald Mcquade
Matthew Ramirez
Acquired by Chegg

28. THESIS 2017
Technology can be used to reduce barriers
to education such as cost, geography, and
navigating the system
Access and
Student Success
Access and Student Success | 28

29. NOW
THEN
29
HOW HIGHER ED HAS CHANGED
REACH REFLECTIONS
Administrators have long relied on technology to shepherd
students through their college journey from enrollment, to
retention, to degree completion. These solutions help
admins optimize highly complex university operations.
We’ve seen a new generation of student-centric solutions
emerge in recent years. Friendly, mobile interfaces allow
communication through text messaging, streamline
paperwork, and help students schedule classes around
complex personal lives. These solutions increase student
engagement and outcomes and provide a measurable
return on universities’ investment.
In addition, the pandemic highlighted pressing student
needs such as mental health and learning gaps. Technology
provides an opportunity to increase access to supports like
remote therapy, tutoring and advising.
Access and Student Success ADOPTION CURVE
LATE MAJORITY
62%
EDUCAUSE 2019
% OF STUDENTS WHO FIND
THESE TOOLS VERY OR
EXTREMELY USEFUL
Degree planning
51%
Early alert
40%
How to improve course
performance
% OF STUDENTS WHOSE
INSTITUTIONS USE ADVISING TECH
(planning for courses, degrees and
careers; coaching; tracking
progress; early alerts)
78%
56%
54%
76%
EDUCAUSE 2020
2017 2019
2020
Access and Student Success | 29

30. Student-centered
design and
experiences
Measured outcomes
30
REACH INVESTMENTS INNOVATION DRIVERS
MAINSTAY
Randomized controlled trials have shown:
● 21% reduction in new students not showing up for fall semester
● 16% increase in likelihood of getting at least a B in courses
● 11 point increase in first-gen students’ final grades in courses
STELLIC
● 8x increase in student engagement with course planning tool in
the first year of implementation
CAMPUS
● 76 student NPS
Access and Student Success | 30
REACH PORTFOLIO INFLUENCE
Access and Student Success

31. When COVID hit, Romeo left DePaul University. He
worked for a bit but wanted to go back to school to
pursue his dream of opening his own practice in
psychology. As a student in Campus’ online associate in
business program, Romeo has found his classes to be
more challenging, engaging and affordable. Professors
encourage group work and connect the content to
real-life examples and relevant cultural references.
They’ve also been much more proactive to offer help,
reaching out via DM to check in. “Even in high school I
didn’t have the level of support I have now.”
“It’s a small community and we all care about each other.
It has real family vibes.”
At HCC, administrators identified over 2,600 “near
graduates” who were close to graduating but hadn’t taken
a class in a year. The college partnered with Mainstay to
deploy a chatbot (“Gwen”) to reach out to them via text,
find those who were interested in completing their
remaining coursework, and offer re-enrollment assistance.
Of the 651 students who interacted with the chatbot, 187
re-enrolled and 61 went on to get their degree. The college
has since expanded its use of Gwen to newly admitted
students starting fall 2021.
“Mainstay enables our bot, Gwen, to upend traditional
models of service in which the student must navigate the
labyrinth of college services.”
Dr. Paul Nagy
VP for Strategic Planning and Analysis
Hillsborough Community College
Romeo D.
Student
Campus
USER STORIES
Access and Student Success | 31
Access and Student Success

32. IMPACT BY COMPANY
Private, online
community college
Tade Oyerinde
Founded
2018, New York, NY
Total Funds Raised
$25.4M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2021
Reach Funds
Reach III
Founder
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
of students are
Pell Eligible
students
to-date
100+
Pre-product market fit
85%
No cost with financial aid
User love
DESIGN DESIGN USER LOVE
Student supports including free
laptop/wifi, personal support
coach, tutoring, career services
and 24/7 mental health support
76 student NPS
23
adjunct
professors
Adjunct professors from
top tier universities
Impact Thesis: While community college can provide an affordable
pathway to a 4-year degree, only 14% of students attain a bachelor’s
degree in 6 years. Campus aspires to provide a 2-year, online
community college program with significantly higher success rates
that requires no out-of-pocket costs.
Access and Student Success | 32
Access and Student Success

33. IMPACT BY COMPANY
AI mobile messaging solution
that scales student support
Andrew Magliozzi
Founded
2014, Boston, MA
Total Funds Raised
$24.9M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2016
Reach Funds
Reach I
Founder
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
of students served by higher ed
partners receive Pell grants
partners in higher education,
college access, government,
and enterprise
225+
Product-market fit
41%
Accessible through colleges
User love and measured outcomes
USER LOVE MEASURED OUTCOMES
reduction in new students not
showing up for fall semester
MEASURED OUTCOMES
increase in students getting B
grade or higher
5M
students served
of students find Mainstay’s bot
helpful
Impact Thesis: Mainstay's chatbot leverages behavioral science on
nudging to enable personalized, ongoing communication with
learners. Numerous RCTs have shown improvement in learner
outcomes, including retention and grades. Mainstay is now extending
its reach to help deskless workers access education opportunities.
Access and Student Success | 33
Access and Student Success
Kirk Daulerio
16%
21%
95%

34. IMPACT BY COMPANY
Student-focused, degree
management platform
Rukhsar Neyaz
Founded
2016, San Francisco, CA
Total Funds Raised
$13.6M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2019
Reach Funds
Reach II, Reach III
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
of students served by higher ed
partners receive Pell grants
students
530k+
Product-market fit
26%
Accessible through colleges
User love and measured outcomes
USER LOVE USER LOVE MEASURED OUTCOMES
NPS
Grad clearance process for one
university reduced from one
semester to 2 weeks
Impact Thesis: Using sophisticated algorithms and student-friendly
interfaces, Stellic helps students plan courses and design an efficient
path to graduation. Its advisory platform helps optimize precious time
with advisors. It is software infrastructure for colleges, but is
designed by students, for students.
increase in student
engagement in the first year
of implementation
Access and Student Success | 34
Access and Student Success
80+
8x
Sabih Bin Wasi
Musab Popatia

35. THESIS 2017
Technology can be leveraged to connect
college learning to career and economic
opportunities
Career
Readiness
Career Readiness | 35

36. NOW
THEN
2022
HOLONIQ, 2017, 2021
REACH REFLECTIONS
Academic departments and career services are typically
siloed, focusing on either discipline-specific skills or job
placement. Universities increasingly recognize the need to
coordinate efforts to help students develop skills valued
by employers.
Career centers have increased access to supports with
virtual coaching, mentorship, job boards, career fairs,
and internships. Faculty, however, have been slow to
integrate career preparation into coursework. Barriers
include resistance to change, the need to redesign
courses, and the lack of industry expertise. Some
universities partner with bootcamps to address these
gaps. While bootcamps have seen success with continuing
ed programs, they have struggled to gain traction with
degree-embedded programs.
36
Career Readiness ADOPTION CURVES
INNOVATORS
96%
CAREER SERVICES
34%
20%
HOW HIGHER ED HAS CHANGED
69%
205
Providing remote counseling
Providing remote interviews
NACE: 2022
27%
Housed within
academic affairs
CAREER SKILLS
21%
Students who believe
they have job skills to
be successful
University/bootcamp
partnerships
35
2019
2014
2021
2021
2018
2017
GALLUP/STRADA CENGAGE
NACE: 2021
LATE MAJORITY
Developing career skills
Tech-enabled career services
Career Readiness | 36

37. 37
REACH INVESTMENTS INNOVATION DRIVERS
Bringing existing
career services
offerings online
Developing career
skills outside of
academics
Online job postings and
career fairs provide students
access to more employers
and vice versa
HANDSHAKE
Students connect to alumni
for mentorship and advice
PEOPLEGROVE
Continuing education
programs target reskillers
and upskillers
FOURTH REV & SPRINGBOARD
Virtual internships enable
hands-on work experience to
students while in school
RIIPEN
A platform and community for
learning and collaborating on
coding projects
REPLIT
Career Readiness | 37
Career Readiness
REACH PORTFOLIO INFLUENCE

38. Dremere sought an internship during the start of the
pandemic to support his family, especially after his
father was laid off. Through Handshake, he found
opportunities related to his aerospace engineering
studies. He landed an internship with GE Aviation and
saw his work in jet engine production come to life on
the factory floor. “It was a match made in heaven,” he
recalls. Entering his senior year he wanted to develop
interpersonal skills and secured a sales internship with
a different employer, also via Handshake.
“The application process was straightforward and
something I really appreciated as a first-gen college
student who’s navigating this whole internship process
on top of school and FAFSA.”
A former medical emergency responder, Abdelkareem
wanted to work in CS and got a bachelor’s degree. But
that education skewed more toward theoretical concepts
than practical applications and left him wanting more. So
he enrolled in the software engineering track at
Springboard (while still working as an EMT), where he
worked on projects under the guidance of an industry
mentor. She guided him through the job search process —
and the many rejections along the way — and helped him
land an engineering job at a Fortune 500 subsidiary.
“The most valuable part was having a mentor… an actual
industry professional making comments on my code,
helping me improve, and making me feel like the decisions I
make are decisions an industry professional would make.”
Abdelkareem ElShareif
Software Engineer
Bread Financial
Dremere Woods
Student
Auburn University
Career Readiness USER STORIES
Career Readiness | 38

39. Jack Hylands
Founded
2019, London, UK
Total Funds Raised
$15.5M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2021
Reach Funds
Reach III
Founders
Designed with universities,
technology companies, and
international employers
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Online program can be
accessed from
anywhere globally
Pre-product market fit Moderately priced
User love and measured outcomes
DESIGN USER LOVE
Omar de Silva
Less expensive than
a traditional master’s
degree
MEASURED OUTCOMES
student enrollments
across 7 cohorts
400+
Career Readiness
Digital career programs
delivered through universities
Impact Thesis: Universities are not delivering career outcomes, with
41% of recent US graduates underemployed. FourthRev delivers
higher education-to-job pathways through career accelerators that
bring together academia and industry.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 39
learner feedback score
4.3/5
of the first cohort achieved
career outcomes within 6 weeks
of graduation
100%

40. Garrett Lord
Founded
2012, San Francisco, CA
Total Funds Raised
$434.8M
Reach Entry Round
Series C, 2018
Reach Funds
Reach II, Reach Opp
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Broad usage —
representative of U.S. college
student population
Scaled No cost to learners
User love
USER LOVE USER LOVE USER LOVE
students and
recent grads
18M
Career Readiness
Early career platform for students,
universities and recruiters
Impact Thesis: With its vast network of universities and recruiters,
Handshake provides college students access to job opportunities
around the country. Handshake also provides employers access to
hard-to-find, qualified talent, including underrepresented minorities.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 40
Increase in student
engagement
65%
Average increase in number of job
postings through career centers
3x
Ben Christensen
university
partners
1400+
employer
partners
750k+
of universities in the U.S. use
Handshake
40% Jonathan Stull

41. Adam Saven
Founded
2015, San Francisco, CA
Total Funds Raised
$8.9M
Reach Entry Round
Preseed, 2016
Reach Funds
Reach I
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Broad usage —
representative of U.S. college
student population
Product-market fit Accessible through colleges
User love and measured outcomes
DESIGN USER LOVE
Reilly Davis
MEASURED OUTCOMES
higher ed
institutions
400+
Career Readiness
Mentorship platform
Impact Thesis: PeopleGrove helps students develop social capital
that can increase access to opportunity by connecting them to
mentors and supporters who can unlock the next chapter of their
careers.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 41
of students say PeopleGrove made
them more confident about
success in the job market
76%
of students say PeopleGrove
connections resulted in a good
job or internship
63%
users
2M+
Designed based on research
connecting social capital to
increased opportunity
FISHER, 2018
Exited

42. Hayah Odeh
Founded
2016, San Francisco, CA
Total Funds Raised
$104.6M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2016
Reach Funds
Reach I, Reach Opp
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Scaled No cost to learners
User love and measured outcomes
USER LOVE USER LOVE
Amjad Masad
MEASURED OUTCOMES
users
20M+
Career Readiness
Collaborative, crowd-based
coding platform
Impact Thesis: Replit’s mission is to bring the next billion software
creators online. Its tools and platforms enable learners, educators,
and developers to build, host, and share software. Replit's browser-
and cloud-based development environment, free tutorials, and an
online community makes learning to code accessible to all.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 42
Used by notable universities
including UC Berkeley, Oregon
State, U of Mich, NYU, Columbia,
USC, Bucknell, and U of Texas
projects created
240M
users have .edu
domain
403k+
Number of users grew from 5M
in 2020 to 20M+ in 2023
Free Accessible by mobile
phone

43. Dave Savory
Founded
2014, Vancouver, BC
Total Funds Raised
$6.4M
Reach Entry Round
Seed, 2019
Reach Funds
Reach II
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Pre-product market fit Accessible through colleges
Measured outcomes
USER LOVE MEASURED OUTCOMES MEASURED OUTCOMES
learners
100k
Career Readiness
Learning platform that integrates
work experiences into higher ed
Impact Thesis: 45% of new college grads are underemployed; 67%
will remain underemployed five years later. Riipen delivers
work-based learning experiences to help college students develop
skills necessary to thrive in the job market.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 43
98%+
of students receive one or more
job offers after completing
project
68%
institutions
430
employers
30k
Broad usage — representative of North American
college student population
Students are paid for micro-internships
Dana Stephenson
of students felt Riipen projects
improved their communication,
critical thinking, and creativity
4/5
Student rating on feeling
more engaged and connected
to a course

44. Parul Gupta
Founded
2013, San Francisco, CA
Total Funds Raised
$65M
Reach Entry Round
Series A, 2019
Reach Funds
Reach II
Founders
SCALE ACCESS
QUALITY
Product-market fit Moderately priced
User love and measured outcomes
DESIGN USER LOVE MEASURED OUTCOMES
total students in 2022
7.5k
Career Readiness
Online program to prepare for
careers in the digital economy
Impact Thesis: Starting a digital careers requires not only job-specific
skills, but also knowing how to land and succeed in a job.
Springboard offers a flexible, project-based learning experience with
one-on-one support from mentors, career coaches, and advisors.
IMPACT BY COMPANY
Career Readiness | 44
average salary increase
$25k
+
students through
universities
1.8k
Hands-on, project based
learning with 1:1 support from
mentor, career coach and
student advisor
Job guarantee
of students report being satisfied
with the program
75%
Upfront payment not
required
Gautam Tambay

45. Looking Forward: New Theses
45
45

46. 46
As our societal and
post-secondary education
contexts have evolved, so
have opportunities to have
impact.
Trends to Watch | 46
Trends to Watch | 46
TRENDS TO WATCH
Image created with Midjourney AI

47. ➔ Lack of academic preparedness and increased
learning challenges
➔ Declining mental health
➔ Disproportionately impacted populations
➔ Generative AI
Trends to Watch | 47
Student Success
THESIS: Personalized student supports that
leverage both AI and humans can address varied
student needs effectively and efficiently
DRIVERS
OPPORTUNITIES
EXAMPLES
➔ AI-powered personalized learning coach
➔ Human support and mentorship, peer-to-peer
learning
➔ Scalable mental health support
➔ Reach portfolio: Mainstay, Stellic
➔ Non-Reach: Mantra, TimelyMD, TogetherAll, TutorMe,
Upswing
TRENDS TO WATCH

48. ➔ Increased student social anxiety
➔ Increased student disengagement
➔ Epidemic of loneliness and isolation declared by U.S.
Surgeon General
➔ Pandemic-driven loneliness negatively impacts
academic performance
Trends to Watch | 48
Connectedness and
Community
THESIS: Meaningful human interactions can improve
learner well-being and learning outcomes
DRIVERS
OPPORTUNITIES
EXAMPLES
➔ Solutions that enable social connection and
community
➔ Solutions that enable meaningful interactions in real
life
➔ Reach portfolio: Kanu
➔ Non-Reach: Fizz, FuzeMee, Nod, Peervine
TRENDS TO WATCH

49. ➔ Labor shortages across career skill levels
➔ Learning while working (upskilling and reskilling)
➔ Good paying jobs that don’t require a college degree
Trends to Watch | 49
Career Pathways
THESIS: Accessible, flexible and skill-based
development opportunities can facilitate economic
mobility throughout one’s formal education and
career
DRIVERS
OPPORTUNITIES
EXAMPLES
➔ Alternative credentialing
➔ Trade schools
➔ Employer-driven learning
➔ Apprenticeships
➔ Self-employment
➔ Reach portfolio: Aprende Institute, Bitwise,
FourthRev, Springboard, Stepful, Riipen, WorkWhile,
➔ Non-Reach: Jolt, Multiverse, Parker Dewey, Skillshare
TRENDS TO WATCH

50. ➔ High levels of student disengagement
➔ Frequent use of generative AI for cheating
➔ Heightened need for collaboration, creativity, and
critical thinking skills
Trends to Watch | 50
Future-Readiness
THESIS: Active, collaborative learning experiences
and productivity tools can help prepare learners to
be successful in world shaped by AI
DRIVERS
OPPORTUNITIES
EXAMPLES
➔ Engaging learning experiences that develop
collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking skills
➔ AI-powered productivity tools
➔ Tools that streamline high-quality instructional
design
➔ Non-Reach: Elicit, PowerNotes
TRENDS TO WATCH

51. REACH OUT
Help us bring impactful
higher ed and post-secondary
solutions to life.
We’d love to hear from you.
@reachfund
info@reachcapital.com
www.reachcapital.com
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