Reach Capital - Higher Ed Impact Report 2023.pdf

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 51 51

Reach Capital - Higher Ed Impact Report 2023.pdf

Reach Capital - Higher Ed Impact Report 2023.pdf

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