Before Matthew Schiumo became one of Mathnasium Learning Centers’ leading multi-unit franchisees, he was a student who had been told that math simply was not going to happen for him.
As a high school athlete, Schiumo devoted most of his energy to football and wrestling. After struggling in his freshman math class, he approached his teacher for help. Rather than receiving the encouragement he needed, he was advised to focus on athletics.
“I never felt like I was enough, and I never felt like I had the skills,” Schiumo said. “I felt like I was a complete outcast. I never felt like I was quick enough.”
His experience began to change years later when he encountered Dr. Jefferson Cartano, an electrical engineer and tutor who recognized Schiumo’s potential. Instead of teaching to the class as a whole, Cartano identified the foundational concepts Schiumo had missed and worked with him from where he was.
“He told me, ‘I can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself. You’re not just going to be an engineer. You’re going to be a good engineer,’” Schiumo said. “Those were some really powerful words because it was the first time someone outside my family had said that I was a student.”
With Cartano’s support, Schiumo completed his associate degree and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. He went on to design high-rise buildings in Manhattan and later became a lead project manager.
But after Cartano died unexpectedly at 47, Schiumo began reconsidering what he wanted his own legacy to be. “I sat in my office on Fifth Avenue, stared out the window for a while and thought, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to do something else,’” he said.
That search eventually led him to Mathnasium, the math-only tutoring franchise. Today, Schiumo operates Mathnasium Learning Centers in Hoboken, Fort Lee and Paramus, New Jersey, with a fourth location planned for Edgewater. His business, Cartano Way, is named in honor of the mentor who changed the direction of his life.
For Schiumo, Mathnasium stands apart because its instructional approach addresses a problem he experienced personally. Traditional classrooms must often teach a large group of students at approximately the same pace, even though those students may have widely different levels of understanding.
“When you look at the way modern-day school is taught, it’s taught to the middle of the bell curve,” Schiumo said. “There are always going to be students who are advanced and don’t need that lesson because they already understand it. Then there are going to be people who need a lot of prerequisite lessons because they’re not there yet.”
The result is that students at either end of the academic spectrum may not receive exactly what they need. Some struggle because they have gaps in foundational knowledge, while others become disengaged because the material is no longer challenging.
Mathnasium’s assessment process and individualized learning plans are designed to identify a student’s specific needs and create an appropriate path forward.
“As soon as I got someone who taught me based on where I was and what I needed, everything started to come together,” Schiumo said. “It wasn’t just that I felt like it was coming together. The results showed it. Mathnasium is one of the only franchises in education that I’ve seen take a truly personal, individualized approach. The way we do our assessment process is so unbelievably thorough. It’s accurate, it’s a distinct approach, and that’s what I fell in love with.”
Math support is sometimes viewed as a temporary service for students who need to prepare for a test or improve a grade. Schiumo believes Mathnasium creates a longer-lasting relationship because the instruction evolves as the student does.
“We truly grow with you,” he said. “As a student progresses from first-grade work to second-grade work, we’re right there with them, holding their hand through that process.”
That continuity applies to students across the performance spectrum. When children begin advancing beyond the pace of their classroom, Mathnasium can continue challenging them. When students have fallen behind, instructors can identify where the breakdown occurred and rebuild from there.
“We might be the people who introduce new topics and continue moving students forward when they feel like the schoolwork is too easy,” Schiumo said. “On the other end of the spectrum, for struggling students, we can say, ‘I understand you’re in fifth grade, but a lot of things started to break down in third grade. Let’s go back, look at the fundamentals and build the skills that will carry forward into fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade.’”
In Schiumo’s centers, enduring demand is built through a cycle of community engagement, student results and word-of-mouth referrals. “Having strong student outcomes is what drives referrals, and community impact is what gets those initial families through the door,” he said. “It works in a circular way.”
Community outreach introduces families to the center. The Mathnasium assessment and instructional experience then provide an opportunity to demonstrate value. When families see improvements in their children’s skills, confidence and attitude toward math, they are often willing to recommend the program to others.
“Once our business gets beyond 100 students, almost 70% to 80% of our business is referral business,” Schiumo said. “When people can feel that you’re making a difference for their child, believe in the system and believe in what you’ve created, it becomes very easy for them to invite their friends and classmates to join us.”
And the proof is in the numbers. The Mathnasium Learning Center in Hoboken had 60 students enrolled two months after its May 2023 opening. In its second year, that figure reached 318. Mathnasium also named the location its No. 1 Rising Star franchise for 2024.
In 2025, the Hoboken business generated more than $1 million in revenue, according to Schiumo. “I had absolutely no entrepreneurial experience whatsoever,” he said. “I had served as a leader in my previous roles, and I was backed by an engineering degree, which I think was a great recipe for becoming an entrepreneur. But my passion and my heart led the project, and we’ve become one of the highest-grossing centers in the country.”
As artificial intelligence reshapes education, Schiumo believes Mathnasium’s in-person, relationship-based experience has become even more valuable.
“In this new AI age, where everything is becoming artificial intelligence, the human connection could not be more important,” he said. “We have technology in the background, but the technology allows us to focus on human intelligence. The strongest proposition we have is face-to-face instruction, working with students, building relationships, building trust and rapport within a community and becoming a cornerstone. That will never go anywhere, no matter how strong AI gets. People will always want their kids to have a safe place to go and learn.”
Even Mathnasium’s use of paper-and-pencil instruction can be a differentiator for parents concerned about how much time their children already spend on devices.
“I’ve heard countless parents say they’re grateful we are still using paper binders instead of iPads or Chromebooks,” Schiumo said. “They feel their children already have enough screen time in school. The fact that they can come into our centers, learn using paper and pencil and receive face-to-face instruction is something they’re seeking. We’re standing the test of time and serving as the place people are looking for in this ever-changing world.”
After seeing the impact and performance of his first Mathnasium Learning Center, Schiumo expanded because he wanted to bring the same kind of support Dr. Cartano once gave him to more students.
“I realized that I really liked entrepreneurship,” he said. “I liked the autonomy and the ability to work on what I thought mattered. From there, I decided I wanted to continue expanding, continue offering the services Dr. Cartano offered to me and do it the way he would. That is what drives me. It’s why I believe in Mathnasium as much as I do. This is a passion-based business. You have to believe in what you do. You have to believe in what Mathnasium provides. I think that if you lead with your heart, anyone can be successful in this business.”
The initial investment required to begin operating a Mathnasium franchise is $127,316 to $165,846. To learn more about owning a Mathnasium franchise, visit https://1851franchise.com/mathnasium/info.
Mathnasium
SPONSORED
New Jersey multi-unit franchisee Matthew Schiumo says Mathnasium’s individualized instruction, measurable outcomes and relationship-driven model create lasting value.
Before Matthew Schiumo became one of Mathnasium Learning Centers’ leading multi-unit franchisees, he was a student who had been told that math simply was not going to happen for him.
As a high school athlete, Schiumo devoted most of his energy to football and wrestling. After struggling in his freshman math class, he approached his teacher for help. Rather than receiving the encouragement he needed, he was advised to focus on athletics.
“I never felt like I was enough, and I never felt like I had the skills,” Schiumo said. “I felt like I was a complete outcast. I never felt like I was quick enough.”
His experience began to change years later when he encountered Dr. Jefferson Cartano, an electrical engineer and tutor who recognized Schiumo’s potential. Instead of teaching to the class as a whole, Cartano identified the foundational concepts Schiumo had missed and worked with him from where he was.
“He told me, ‘I can see things in you that you don’t see in yourself. You’re not just going to be an engineer. You’re going to be a good engineer,’” Schiumo said. “Those were some really powerful words because it was the first time someone outside my family had said that I was a student.”
With Cartano’s support, Schiumo completed his associate degree and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. He went on to design high-rise buildings in Manhattan and later became a lead project manager.
But after Cartano died unexpectedly at 47, Schiumo began reconsidering what he wanted his own legacy to be. “I sat in my office on Fifth Avenue, stared out the window for a while and thought, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to do something else,’” he said.
That search eventually led him to Mathnasium, the math-only tutoring franchise. Today, Schiumo operates Mathnasium Learning Centers in Hoboken, Fort Lee and Paramus, New Jersey, with a fourth location planned for Edgewater. His business, Cartano Way, is named in honor of the mentor who changed the direction of his life.
For Schiumo, Mathnasium stands apart because its instructional approach addresses a problem he experienced personally. Traditional classrooms must often teach a large group of students at approximately the same pace, even though those students may have widely different levels of understanding.
“When you look at the way modern-day school is taught, it’s taught to the middle of the bell curve,” Schiumo said. “There are always going to be students who are advanced and don’t need that lesson because they already understand it. Then there are going to be people who need a lot of prerequisite lessons because they’re not there yet.”
The result is that students at either end of the academic spectrum may not receive exactly what they need. Some struggle because they have gaps in foundational knowledge, while others become disengaged because the material is no longer challenging.
Mathnasium’s assessment process and individualized learning plans are designed to identify a student’s specific needs and create an appropriate path forward.
“As soon as I got someone who taught me based on where I was and what I needed, everything started to come together,” Schiumo said. “It wasn’t just that I felt like it was coming together. The results showed it. Mathnasium is one of the only franchises in education that I’ve seen take a truly personal, individualized approach. The way we do our assessment process is so unbelievably thorough. It’s accurate, it’s a distinct approach, and that’s what I fell in love with.”
Math support is sometimes viewed as a temporary service for students who need to prepare for a test or improve a grade. Schiumo believes Mathnasium creates a longer-lasting relationship because the instruction evolves as the student does.
“We truly grow with you,” he said. “As a student progresses from first-grade work to second-grade work, we’re right there with them, holding their hand through that process.”
That continuity applies to students across the performance spectrum. When children begin advancing beyond the pace of their classroom, Mathnasium can continue challenging them. When students have fallen behind, instructors can identify where the breakdown occurred and rebuild from there.
“We might be the people who introduce new topics and continue moving students forward when they feel like the schoolwork is too easy,” Schiumo said. “On the other end of the spectrum, for struggling students, we can say, ‘I understand you’re in fifth grade, but a lot of things started to break down in third grade. Let’s go back, look at the fundamentals and build the skills that will carry forward into fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade.’”
In Schiumo’s centers, enduring demand is built through a cycle of community engagement, student results and word-of-mouth referrals. “Having strong student outcomes is what drives referrals, and community impact is what gets those initial families through the door,” he said. “It works in a circular way.”
Community outreach introduces families to the center. The Mathnasium assessment and instructional experience then provide an opportunity to demonstrate value. When families see improvements in their children’s skills, confidence and attitude toward math, they are often willing to recommend the program to others.
“Once our business gets beyond 100 students, almost 70% to 80% of our business is referral business,” Schiumo said. “When people can feel that you’re making a difference for their child, believe in the system and believe in what you’ve created, it becomes very easy for them to invite their friends and classmates to join us.”
And the proof is in the numbers. The Mathnasium Learning Center in Hoboken had 60 students enrolled two months after its May 2023 opening. In its second year, that figure reached 318. Mathnasium also named the location its No. 1 Rising Star franchise for 2024.
In 2025, the Hoboken business generated more than $1 million in revenue, according to Schiumo. “I had absolutely no entrepreneurial experience whatsoever,” he said. “I had served as a leader in my previous roles, and I was backed by an engineering degree, which I think was a great recipe for becoming an entrepreneur. But my passion and my heart led the project, and we’ve become one of the highest-grossing centers in the country.”
As artificial intelligence reshapes education, Schiumo believes Mathnasium’s in-person, relationship-based experience has become even more valuable.
“In this new AI age, where everything is becoming artificial intelligence, the human connection could not be more important,” he said. “We have technology in the background, but the technology allows us to focus on human intelligence. The strongest proposition we have is face-to-face instruction, working with students, building relationships, building trust and rapport within a community and becoming a cornerstone. That will never go anywhere, no matter how strong AI gets. People will always want their kids to have a safe place to go and learn.”
Even Mathnasium’s use of paper-and-pencil instruction can be a differentiator for parents concerned about how much time their children already spend on devices.
“I’ve heard countless parents say they’re grateful we are still using paper binders instead of iPads or Chromebooks,” Schiumo said. “They feel their children already have enough screen time in school. The fact that they can come into our centers, learn using paper and pencil and receive face-to-face instruction is something they’re seeking. We’re standing the test of time and serving as the place people are looking for in this ever-changing world.”
After seeing the impact and performance of his first Mathnasium Learning Center, Schiumo expanded because he wanted to bring the same kind of support Dr. Cartano once gave him to more students.
“I realized that I really liked entrepreneurship,” he said. “I liked the autonomy and the ability to work on what I thought mattered. From there, I decided I wanted to continue expanding, continue offering the services Dr. Cartano offered to me and do it the way he would. That is what drives me. It’s why I believe in Mathnasium as much as I do. This is a passion-based business. You have to believe in what you do. You have to believe in what Mathnasium provides. I think that if you lead with your heart, anyone can be successful in this business.”
The initial investment required to begin operating a Mathnasium franchise is $127,316 to $165,846. To learn more about owning a Mathnasium franchise, visit https://1851franchise.com/mathnasium/info.
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