Joe

Founder and Mathematics Academic Lead

Hi, I’m Joe, the founder of Catalyst Academics and the person leading the Mathematical Methods and Specialist Mathematics content.

Academically, my background is in mathematics, which will shock absolutely no one who has spoken to me for more than twelve seconds. I studied Mathematical and Computer Science, majoring in Applied Mathematics, and I have been working as a private and group tutor since 2018, mainly across maths and physics.

Before that, I was Dux of Xavier College in 2017, achieved an ATAR of 99.95, and received a Merit in Physics, which I completed in Year 11. So yes, I was that kid.

The very stereotypical, maths-loving, physics-enjoying, “please give me a set of rules and I will happily follow them to their logical conclusion” kind of student. And honestly, I loved it.

I loved studying. I loved understanding difficult concepts. I loved walking into tests and exams knowing I had put in the work. I loved the feeling of things slowly clicking into place. That is a huge part of why I became a tutor in the first place.

Since finishing school, most of my professional life has been in education, especially the tutoring space. I have worked as a private tutor, group tutor, content developer, operations coordinator, tutor hiring and training coordinator, and area manager within tutoring and education companies. So I have seen this field from a few different angles.

I have taught students directly. I have helped train tutors. I have built resources. I have worked behind the scenes in operations. I have seen what students need, what families are looking for, what tutors do well, and where the current support systems often fall short. That experience is a huge part of what shaped Catalyst.

When I teach, my goal is always to make difficult ideas feel less intimidating. I do not want students sitting there thinking, “I am just not a maths person,” or “I will never understand this,” because most of the time that is not true.

Most of the time, they just need the right explanation, the right examples, and someone who can slow the whole thing down without making them feel stupid for needing help. That is where I think I do my best work.

I have always tried to teach with more of an older-brother energy than a traditional teacher energy. Still structured, still clear, still academically strong, but more relaxed and human. More like, “Alright, this looks awful, but I promise we can make it make sense.” One of my favourite parts of tutoring has always been building a proper connection with students.

Yes, I love teaching maths and physics. But I also love hearing about what my students are doing on the weekend, what sport they are playing, what holiday they have coming up, what exam they are stressed about, what university course they are thinking about, or what random life drama has unfolded since last week. Nothing too wild, obviously. We are still here to do maths, not host a reality TV reunion special. But that personal connection matters.

Students learn better when they feel comfortable. They ask better questions when they do not feel judged. They are more willing to make mistakes when they trust the person helping them. That is the kind of energy I want Catalyst to have.

High-quality academic support, but without the cold, robotic, corporate feeling that makes learning feel more painful than it needs to be. Outside of education, I am a massive nerd, and I say that with full confidence.

I love gaming, board game nights with my friends, going to the cinema, anime, books, fitness, cooking and spending probably too much time thinking about fictional worlds that are not real but still somehow emotionally damaging.

For anime, my top three are Attack on Titan, Code Geass and Death Note, which are all probably very basic answers, but I stand by them completely. Gaming-wise, my current obsession is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, especially the soundtrack. I have had “Une vie à t’aimer” on repeat for months, and if the words “For those who come after, right?” mean anything to you, then you already know. We have suffered together.

I am also a big gym and fitness person, I love cooking, and if you are a Brandon Sanderson fan, especially Mistborn or Stormlight Archive, then honestly, we are already friends.

At the end of the day, Catalyst is a combination of a lot of things I care about: education, South Australia, clear teaching, good resources, helping students feel more confident, and building something that can genuinely make a difference.

Also, yes, I would like the business to do well. I am not going to pretend I have never once thought about early retirement. But the serious answer is this: I created Catalyst because I know how powerful good academic support can be, and I want more South Australian students to have access to it.

Not just the students who can afford expensive tutoring. Not just the students in the right school. Not just the students who already know where to find help. All of them. That is the goal.

“I’m not going to lie, part of me is absolutely here because building a successful education platform sounds like a pretty good way to get rich and retire by 34. But the real reason is that I love teaching, I love helping students, and I genuinely think South Australian students deserve better academic support than they currently get. So yes, early retirement would be lovely. But helping students actually understand the beauty (yes, beauty) of maths is also pretty satisfying.”