The EdTech Filling a Stadium with 150K Grads by 2X'ing Completion Rates | Zach Heller, VP of Prod. (Penn Foster)
An inside look at how Penn Foster rethought retention, doubled completion rates, and built a product-led engine for student success.
TL;DR
In this episode of LaunchPod, we sit down with Zach Heller, VP of Product at Penn Foster, to explore how his team is transforming EdTech outcomes.
Instead of chasing top-of-funnel growth, Penn Foster doubled down on completion rates, aiming to graduate 150,000 students by 2029. Along the way, they embraced product-led growth, experimentation, and AI-powered learning tools that are reshaping both student outcomes and business success.
Here’s what we cover:
Why Penn Foster shifted from acquisition to retention, focusing on completion rates to hit their 150k goal (02:04)
How product-led experimentation drove 2X gains in completion rates (06:14)
The role of AI-powered tools in scaling real-time student feedback (14:24)
What product leaders can learn about growth through retention, not just acquisition (20:34)
1. Filling a Stadium: The 150K Graduate Vision
Penn Foster’s annual in-person graduation sparked a bold idea: what if they could fill an entire stadium with graduates? That vision led to a company-wide pivot from optimizing marketing funnels to prioritizing student success and completion.
The strategy resonates far beyond education, as it’s the same product challenge every SaaS leader faces: fixing leaks in the funnel and delivering on promises made at sign-up.
Things you can do
Set an audacious outcome-based goal that reframes your team’s priorities. Instead of “grow signups by X%,” ask: What would it take to double customer retention, NPS, or usage depth?
Tie every initiative back to outcomes, not acquisition; success is measured at the finish line, not the starting line.
2. Experimentation That Doubled Completion
Doubling completion wasn’t about small UX tweaks. It required systemic experimentation.
Zach and his team:
Ran targeted experiments across high-priority programs like high school, healthcare, and veterinary tech
Narrowed focus to a few core offerings to maximize impact and learning
Embraced a culture of failing fast and iterating, where every experiment, successful or not, was treated as a source of insight
For product leaders, the lesson is clear: big gains require bold, focused experimentation, not just incremental optimization.
3. Growth Through Retention: B2B + B2C Models
Penn Foster’s model spans both direct-to-consumer learners and B2B workforce upskilling partners.
On the B2C side, retention translates directly into revenue; the longer learners stay, the more likely they are to complete.
On the B2B side, many contracts are tied to completion itself, making outcomes mission-critical.
This dual model underscored a truth every product leader knows: sustainable growth depends on retention and outcomes, not just acquisition.
Things you can do
Map where customer success = business success in your model. What’s the “completion rate” equivalent in your org?
Reframe retention not as “keeping users longer” but as delivering promised outcomes. When customers succeed, revenue follows.
Treat retention metrics as north-star growth levers, not just health checks.
4. AI-Powered Learning: Real-Time Writing Feedback
Penn Foster partnered with Learnosity to pilot an AI-powered writing coach. The tool provides real-time feedback on assignments before learners submit them to instructors.
The result? Students felt more confident, engagement increased, and pass rates improved. For many, it was easier to accept iterative feedback from an AI tool than from a human instructor, reducing the fear of failure and encouraging persistence.
Things you can do
Look for manual support workflows in your org that AI could augment at scale (QA, onboarding, reporting).
Use AI to provide immediate feedback loops; customers stick around longer when they can see progress in real time.
Pilot AI tools with narrow, high-friction tasks where automation reduces fear of failure or removes bottlenecks.
Links
Resources
The Hidden Cost of 0.1% Churn | Ken Houseman, VP of Product (Zuora)
How Zuora is Betting on Retention-Led Growth | Ken Houseman, VP of Product (Zuora)
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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