NextStep Interactive

NextStep Interactive is a healthcare education and job placement company based in Seattle, Washington, with a software team in Bozeman, Montana. It recruits workers in low-wage service, retail and hospitality roles — including those whose jobs are threatened by automation and artificial intelligence — and retrains them for entry-level, in-demand healthcare positions such as certified nursing assistant (CNA), home health aide, personal care assistant, community health worker and medical assistant. Training is delivered on mobile devices in 10-15 minute modules that can be completed during a commute or outside working hours, and is paired with an industry-recognized certification and automatic job placement with employer partners.

The company's platform also lets employers screen candidates based on demonstrated competencies and soft skills indicative of fit for healthcare professions. Its blended-learning nursing assistant program includes a state-approved, mobile-first CNA course featuring more than 140 skills developed by outside experts, plus continuing education for working CNAs. In 2020 NextStep launched a National COVID-Ready Caregiver Certificate training CNAs, home health aides and other frontline caregivers on health guidelines intended to reduce infection risk during caregiving.

NextStep was the eighth startup to spin out of Seattle startup studio Pioneer Square Labs. It was acquired by CareAcademy.co, Inc. in January 2023.

Founding story

NextStep Interactive was created as a spinout of Pioneer Square Labs, the Seattle startup studio. Pioneer Square Labs managing director Greg Gottesman, who had served on the board of Chris Hedrick's prior company Intrepid Learning, discussed with Hedrick the need to retrain workers displaced by automation, then re-introduced Hedrick to healthcare industry veteran Charissa Raynor; the two had worked together previously. Their conversations combined the retraining thesis with the healthcare industry's workforce needs, producing a model of attracting displaced workers, training those who fit, and placing them in high-demand healthcare careers. Hedrick, the CEO, was previously CEO of venture-backed Intrepid Learning, science and technology advisor to Washington Governor Gary Locke, Country Director of the Peace Corps in Senegal, leader of the Kepler higher education program in Rwanda, and the first employee of the Gates Library Foundation. Raynor, co-founder and executive vice president, was formerly executive director of The Benefits Group, where she led development of the nation's largest home care training initiative.

Business model

NextStep offers training that is free to students and supported by employers: healthcare employers that need workers pay for recruiting, training, certification and placement services, while learners complete mobile coursework and are placed with employer partners. Earlier coverage described an app available for a one-time $20 deposit that filters users into a suitable role, with the company also arranging internships and hands-on training opportunities.

Primary income comes from selling recruiting, training and placement services to employers that need healthcare workers; the student-facing program is described as free to students and employer-supported.

Traction

Through a Colorado pilot approved by the state's Board of Nursing, NextStep had enrolled more than 2,000 learners by April 2020. In the first week after launching its National COVID-Ready Caregiver Certificate, more than 200 healthcare employers nationally signed up, extending access to over 10,000 caregivers. The company had roughly 20 employees and contractors in October 2018.

Latest developments

In April 2020 NextStep announced a $3.6 million round led by SpringRock Ventures, with managing director Kirsten Morbeck joining the board, and launched its National COVID-Ready Caregiver Certificate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was subsequently acquired by CareAcademy.co, Inc. on January 26, 2023.