Practice staffing · Healthcare workforce training
Stepful
Stepful is a Detroit and New York healthcare training company whose AI-supported programs prepare students for entry-level roles such as medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, and related allied health jobs, then place them with employer partners.
Strong fit
- Health systems and clinics that need a steady supply of medical assistants and allied staff
- Adult learners who need a shorter, lower-cost path than a two-year trade school
- Employers that will host clinical externships and hire graduates
Weak fit
- Hospitals that only need a temporary nurse staffing marketplace
- Buyers that want licensed nurse or physician placement without training
- Organizations that will not host students for hands-on clinical hours
Bottom line
Stepful runs accelerated online healthcare training with live cohorts, AI coaching, and clinical placements across thousands of partner sites. It raised a $31.5 million Series B led by Oak HC/FT and reports strong exam pass and completion rates. It fits employers building a labor bench more than buyers that only need shift fill.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Stepful's buyers are healthcare employers and the students who enroll. Students take virtual instructor-led and asynchronous courses for roles such as medical assistant and pharmacy technician, then complete hands-on training at partner clinics and hospitals. TechCrunch reported an average program cost of about $2,500 and a four-month format, versus trade schools that can take up to two years and cost much more.
Student tuition and employer B2B contracts both apply; public list pricing for B2B seats is not posted. Among companies we review, Incredible Health, IntelyCare, and Vivian Health focus on hiring or shift marketplaces instead of training new workers. Stepful's job is to grow the allied-health labor supply.
Carl Madi co-founded Stepful in 2021 with Tressia Hobeika and Edoardo Serra after a Y Combinator batch, according to TechCrunch and his Stepful team page. Madi previously scaled operations at Uber, Handy, and Amino Apps and holds an MBA from Wharton. In November 2024 Stepful announced a $31.5 million Series B led by Oak HC/FT; the company's Series B post restated the round and later growth plans.
TechCrunch said Stepful expected about 30,000 enrollees in 2024, up from 50 in its first year, with a 75% graduation rate and a network of about 8,000 clinical partners. The Series B post cited an 87% NHA CCMA exam pass rate and 13,000 monthly active students. Stepful has an estimated $25 million in annual revenue.
Student and employer reviews are scattered across consumer education forums and company materials. Public coverage emphasizes completion rates, exam pass rates, and health-system partnerships such as Ohio State University Physicians and Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
What leaders say
What people like
"What they say is, 'let's host these students. We can train them, and then if we like them, we will hire them.'" TechCrunch
"People feel that they're supported, nurtured, and we see them." TechCrunch
"Stepful is addressing a significant unmet need to mitigate the health professional labor shortage." Oak HC/FT
What people don't like
"Students still need a clinical placement site, so outcomes depend on local partner capacity as much as the online course." Based on product docs
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums, and product documentation.
Based on: Stepful homepage, TechCrunch Series B coverage, and Stepful Series B announcement.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Incredible Health | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| Hello Rache | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| Stepful | 7.4 | 7.3 |
| IntelyCare | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Vivian Health | 7.2 | 7.2 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Student tuition for training programs, plus B2B contracts for employer workforce pipelines. Pricing is partly published for students and by quote for employers. |
| What usually drives cost | Program type, cohort size, and whether employers buy screening, analytics, or on-site learning support. |
| What to ask before you buy | Ask Stepful for completion and placement rates in your market, externship capacity, and B2B pricing for a multi-site health system. |
| Published pricing | Student programs have been described around an average $2,500 cost; employer pricing is by quote. |
Leadership
Carl MadiCo-founder and Chief Executive Officer- Tressia HobeikaCo-founder
- Edoardo SerraCo-founder
Recent news
- January 2026: Stepful published an update on its $31.5 million Series B led by Oak HC/FT and said it would expand B2B employer tools and practical nursing offerings. Stepful
- November 2024: TechCrunch reported Stepful's $31.5 million Series B and said the company expected about 30,000 enrollees that year. TechCrunch
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.