Meet Michael Amith

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Amith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Michael with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My college roommate Louis was valedictorian of his class. He was an engineering major and stayed up late doing homework and studying. He was very competitive in a good sense and encouraged me to work hard. We have remained friends ever since and I admire his work ethic as an MD/PhD who dabbles in home repair projects.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I got my PhD in chemistry from Harvard University and was making enough money to live, but not enjoy my quality of life. Granted I did not have student loans since my PhD program was paying me a stipend, but I wanted some sushi money. I decided to look into tutoring as a side job, while putting in my normal lab hours. I joined a company that was impressed by my credentials on paper and was making $60/hour. Over time, I ended up making $90/hour, but then the pandemic struck and I no longer could meet with students face to face.

I decided to start ZoomOrgo.com in March 2020, at the height of the pandemic, from my apartment in Cambridge MA. I figured that virtual tutoring would be the future. I started by making a sexy website and looking for clients on Facebook. To my chagrin, I found a family in Carbondale, IL that needed help for their daughter. That was awesome. Later, I found a Texas family who had a precocious 7 year old interested in organic chemistry and wanted a tutor. With his father behind him to supervise, he met with me to discuss stereochemistry, a topic reserved for pre-med students usually 13 years older than him.

Over time, ZoomOrgo grew an Instagram page, @Zoom_Orgo that has occasionally gone “chiral” with funny chemistry Reels. Our Instagram page is a major way we find students interested in tutoring. We got verified by Instagram (blue check)

We have since hired a number of MD, PhD students and strive to be the best chemistry tutoring service from tutors who are experts in chemistry.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Urgency-Be quick to jump at opportunities. Like when we started our website.

2) Read the textbook-I couldn’t tutor chemistry had I not read the textbook front to back in college.

3) Make connections-I hired some people I knew from my college years and we have remained business partners

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Loudon Organic Chemistry
—the practice problems between lessons.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ZoomOrgo.com
• Instagram: @zoom_orgo

Image Credits

All mine.