LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast The EdTech Graduating 150K by 2X’ing Completion Rates | Zach Heller, VP of Prod. (Penn Foster)
Today, we’re talking with Zach Heller, VP of Product at Penn Foster Group.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How Penn Foster plans to literally “fill a stadium” with 150,000 graduates by 2029—doubling completion rates to do it
- Why they shifted focus from acquisition to graduation—and how that’s now driving over 50% of enrollments through word-of-mouth
- How AI-powered learning tools boosted course completions by 25% in just one year, setting a new record for outcomes
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ztheller/
Resources
The Hidden Cost of 0.1% Churn | Ken Houseman, VP of Product (Zuora): https://youtu.be/-wDVkPUK104
Chapters
00:00 Doubling Completion Rates & Graduation Goals
02:04 Filling a Stadium: The 150K Graduate Vision
04:09 Fixing the Funnel: Retention Over Acquisition
06:14 Experimentation That Doubled Completion
08:17 B2B vs B2C: Why Completion Rates Drive Revenue
10:19 Word of Mouth as a Growth Engine
12:21 Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Experimentation Mindset
14:24 AI-Powered Learning: Writing Coach Breakthrough
18:00 Human + AI: Scaling Student Support
20:34 Product-Led Growth in EdTech
24:37 Economic Mobility Through Education
26:41 Looking Ahead: Scaling to 150K by 2029
36:56 Final Takeaways: Experimentation at Scale
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Special Guest: Zach Heller.