A group of students at St. Michaels University School (SMUS) have turned their passion for math into a growing business they call AMC Academy.
Named after the American Mathematics Competition, the business is geared towards more than just helping students succeed in the classroom, but in renowned math competitions such as the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME).
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 passionate about math and teaching math so that itB次元官网网址檚 effective in math contests specifically,B次元官网网址� said Ethan Curtis,16, the company's founder.
A passion for math and success in several competitions led Curtis to start tutoring, as he hoped to make some extra money. When he began looking for more students he turned to his classmate Dominic Ely, 17, to help him market the service.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted more students and it was getting difficult for me to manage on my own given the demand,B次元官网网址� said Curtis. Now he is the CEO of AMC Academy, with Ely working as chief marketing officer, handling the business side. Together they were able to bring in a team of coaches, mostly students from renowned universities including Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California.
Eventually, Curtis and Ely brought in a third partner Jaden Berger-North, 17, as chief programming officer, to help with the computer science side of the business, developing their website's back end.
B次元官网网址淚've never really done anything similar to this before, so to be able to combine software development, a field I've been passionate about for as long as I can remember, with a legitimate business endeavour has been extremely rewarding,B次元官网网址� said Berger-North.
Together the three of them transformed a side gig into a legitimate business.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not just simple communication through message or email. ItB次元官网网址檚 now a little bit more advanced. We have a system, a back end on our website, which helps pair students to coaches, sending zoom links and homework,B次元官网网址� Curtis said.
For a project that began in June 2024, the group was surprised to see their venture grow so fast.
B次元官网网址淎t the start, we sort of considered it as a way of just making a little bit of cash on the side,B次元官网网址� said Curtis. But the thousands of dollars in revenue being generated in a short period of time "has really made us consider it as more of a long-term thing.B次元官网网址�
In just a few months AMC Academy has grown from a side project with just one student to working with more than 30. They have generated $20,000 in revenue, cultivated a team of 43 volunteer staff members, six coaches, and received a 2025 Global Recognition Award for revolutionizing mathematics education through innovative teaching methods.
Plans for the business are ambitious as well. Currently, they are working on integrating AI tools into their business. They plan to use AI as a means to improve the teaching style of their coaches and reduce the number of questions students might have about their homework.
At first Curtis says developing AMC was extremely time consuming, especially with school being the trioB次元官网网址檚 top priority. But by dividing up the work and leveraging their unique skill sets in math, computer science and business, things are running much smoother now.
B次元官网网址淲e have coaches and the back end is relatively automated, it's a lot less of a big-time commitment,B次元官网网址� said Curtis. B次元官网网址淥riginally, we were probably putting in maybe more than 20 hours a week individually. But now it's a little bit easier.B次元官网网址�
They still have ambitions for the company, with hopes to develop classes revolved around research, AP class tutoring, and SAT tutoring. They even have plans to start a not-for-profit branch to help students who may not be able to afford their current classes.
Potential students can learn more about
