The EdUp Experience

What The EdUp Experience does

The EdUp Experience is a privately-held, community-driven higher education podcast network founded in 2020 and operated by co-hosts Dr. Joe Sallustio and Elvin Freytes from New York. The company produces a long-form interview podcast covering presidential leadership, EdTech, policy and advocacy, enrollment and marketing, online learning, community colleges, student perspectives, and other higher education topics. The catalog has reached 1,419 episodes across 75+ seasons with over 400,000 organic downloads, including 488+ episodes in the President Series featuring sitting college and university presidents. Content is distributed free across 20+ podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, Audible, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.), giving the show global distribution on the major podcast listening surfaces.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean: the company website is built on Kit (kit.com), which provides form and subscription infrastructure for the EdUp Premium offering. No proprietary technology, app, API, or SDK is disclosed. The commercial model rests on two pillars. The primary revenue stream is per-episode sponsorships from a recurring set of higher-education technology and service companies — Ellucian (power sponsor of the President Series), Coursedog, Studiosity, EducationDynamics, EdUp Leadership, Career-Bond, Uwill, Integrity4Education, Knack, and others. The secondary stream is EdUp Premium, a direct-to-consumer subscription at $5.99/month or $44.99/year providing ad-free listening and exclusive leadership content. The customer base is effectively two-sided: individual higher-education leaders and administrators (free listeners plus Premium subscribers) and EdTech vendors (sponsors). The go-to-market relies on organic podcast discovery, conference presence (HigherEd PodCon, InsightsEDU, Ellucian LIVE, AcOps), and a co-hosting model that converts sponsor executives into recurring on-air talent, deepening both community engagement and sponsor integration.

Name

The EdUp Experience

Legal name

EdUp Experience

Website

https://edupexperience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The EdUp Experience is a privately-held higher education podcast network founded in 2020, producing long-form interviews with college presidents, EdTech executives, and policy leaders. It operates as a community-driven media property distributed across 20+ podcast platforms and monetized via per-episode sponsorships and an EdUp Premium subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Podcast Media

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Experience Marketplaces (Workshops, Mentorships, Projects) (EDAFAIAL)

Keywords

• Higher education podcast
• Education leadership content
• EdTech media network
• College president interviews
• Education community platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. EdUp Premium Subscription: The company offers a premium subscription service (EdUp Premium) providing ad-free access and exclusive leadership content. Subscribers can support the hosts for $5.99/month or $44.99/year, with options to donate or gift subscriptions.
2. Episode Sponsorships & Advertising: Individual episodes feature sponsored segments by higher education technology and service companies such as Ellucian, Coursedog, Studiosity, InsightsEDU, and Career-Bond. Sponsorships are featured per episode with specific branded content segments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The EdUp Experience is a higher education podcast network that produces long-form, conversational interviews with college and university presidents, higher education leaders, and EdTech innovators. The network comprises the flagship "The EdUp Experience" show plus companion series ("EdUp Leadership," "EdUp in the Mix"), a paid premium membership (EdUp Premium), and the HigherEd PodCon conference, monetized through EdTech sponsorships and consumer subscriptions.

Product overview

The EdUp Experience is a higher education podcast network offering audio content focused on college and university leadership. The portfolio consists of the core EdUp Experience Podcast (featuring over 1,400 episodes across 75+ seasons covering President Series, EdTech, Policy & Advocacy, Diverse & Creative Voices, and other higher education topics) and EdUp Premium, a subscription-based tier providing ad-free listening and exclusive content. The podcast is available for free across major podcast platforms, with premium features accessible through a subscription model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The EdUp Experience (flagship podcast) Free, long-form interview podcast featuring college and university presidents, senior higher education leaders, and EdTech innovators; distributed across 20+ podcast platforms and built around 75+ seasons of content.
• EdUp Leadership (podcast series) Companion podcast series within the EdUp Experience network dedicated to higher education leadership conversations.
• EdUp in the Mix (podcast series) Companion podcast series within the EdUp Experience network offering additional higher education conversations.
• EdUp Premium (membership) Paid membership tier of The EdUp Experience podcast priced at $5.99/month or $44.99/year, offering an enhanced listening experience for higher education professionals who want a deeper relationship with the show.
• HigherEd PodCon (conference) In-person higher education conference hosted by The EdUp Experience for college and university leaders, EdTech providers, and the show's community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400,000 organic downloads and growing
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• ElluciancoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEllucian is a featured sponsor and power sponsor of the President Series, powering episodes featuring college and university presidents. Ellucian representatives including Dr. Chris Moloney appear as co-hosts on episodes, and the company is prominently featured across the podcast's editorial calendar. The partnership provides Ellucian direct access to senior higher ed leaders as an engaged audience.
• CoursedogcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCoursedog sponsors the 2026 AcOps Conference and is featured across many episode descriptions, with Coursedog team members including Bridget Moran appearing as co-hosts on episodes. The sponsorship provides Coursedog brand exposure to an audience of college presidents and enrollment leaders.
• HigherEd PodConcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHigherEd PodCon II is a recurring conference sponsor of the EdUp Experience, with EdUp hosting live episode recordings at the conference (July 16-17). The partnership amplifies both brands within the higher education conference and podcast ecosystem.
• InsightsEDUcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerInsightsEDU Conference is a recurring sponsor and live recording venue for EdUp Experience episodes. Multiple episodes were recorded at InsightsEDU 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the conference sponsors the podcast's editorial content.
• EducationDynamicssecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerEducationDynamics team members including Brent Ramdin (CEO) and Dr. Jodi Blinco appear as co-hosts on episodes. The company sponsors specific episode content and gains brand visibility among higher ed leadership audiences.
• StudiositysecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerStudiosity sponsors the podcast and is featured in episode descriptions. Team members including Troy Burnett (SVP & General Manager) appear as co-hosts on episodes, providing Studiosity with direct access to the EdUp listener community.
• EdUp LeadershipcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEdUp Leadership is a recurring episode sponsor that amplifies the EdUp brand and its leadership content across the higher education sector. Many episodes explicitly credit EdUp Leadership as a sponsor.
• Career-BondminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCareer-Bond sponsored specific episodes and its Founder & CEO Darius Goldman appeared as a co-host, providing brand visibility to the EdUp audience of higher ed leaders.
• Integrity4EducationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIntegrity4Education (represented by CEO Thomas Fetsch) co-hosted episodes and sponsored content around academic integrity topics, aligning EdUp's EdTech coverage with Integrity4Education's brand positioning.
• KnackminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKnack (co-founded and led by Samyr Qureshi) appeared as a co-host and episode sponsor. Multiple EdUp hosts and co-hosts are associated with or endorse Knack's platform, creating organic cross-promotion.
• UwillminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUwill sponsored specific episodes including the NASPA partnership episode and the EdUp Accreditation Insights series, providing mental health and wellness brand alignment with the higher education audience.
• ELIVE ConferencesecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerThe ELIVE 2026 Conference in Denver, Colorado is a recurring conference sponsor of EdUp episodes, with live recordings and brand mentions across the editorial calendar.
• Studio E (Ensign College)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerStudio E, a student production team at Ensign College, produced the CES Presidents episode, demonstrating a collaborative student media partnership that contributes to EdUp's content creation pipeline.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Education Next: Education policy journal and podcast from Harvard's PEPG and Stanford's Hoover Institution. Overlaps with EdUp's policy & advocacy content tracks and reaches a similar academic-leader audience.
• Higher Ed Dive: Industry newsletter and podcast publication covering higher-ed news for administrators and policy professionals. Comparable audience and editorial coverage area, broader news-format scope.
• EdSurge: News and podcast network covering EdTech and the future of learning. Overlaps with EdUp in audience and sponsor base, but operates as a broader editorial/news outlet rather than a single-show network.
• Inside Higher Ed: Major higher-ed news, opinion, and events outlet with extensive podcast and editorial coverage. Operates as an incumbent across the same audience that EdUp serves but at significantly larger scale and institutional backing.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education: Largest and most established higher-ed news and career resource brand, with podcasts, newsletters, and events. Same audience (higher-ed leaders and administrators) but with paid subscription and institutional distribution.

Direct peers

• Future U (merged into Class Disrupted): Higher-ed podcast originally hosted by Jeff Selingo (now part of Class Disrupted). Closest historical analog in format and editorial focus on the future of colleges and universities.
• Class Disrupted: Higher-education podcast by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn focused on innovation and disruption in colleges. Closest analog in editorial positioning (higher-ed reform/leadership) and premium-content model.
• The Grade (Alexander Russo): Independent media property (newsletter and podcast) covering the intersection of K-12/higher ed, policy, and media. Comparable creator-led format and direct-to-audience monetization model.
• The EdTech Podcast: Long-running interview-format podcast covering education technology and the future of learning, hosted by Sophie Bailey. Directly comparable format and audience (EdTech-adjacent educators and leaders) with similar sponsorship-driven monetization.
• Higher Ed Heroes: Higher-education podcast focused on marketing and enrollment leaders. Directly comparable format (interview podcast), audience (higher-ed professionals), and sponsorship-driven revenue model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxSEBPPIMGxAau2-qBLmZIg/featured
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/highereducationpodcast

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The EdUp Experience