Ask HN: How would you start a small private math circle for talented kids?

I’ve had this quiet dream for years.

I want to start a small mathematical class for talented kids. Not exam prep. Not curriculum drilling. More like a thinking lab.

When I was in school, I loved olympiad-style problems. The non-trivial ones. The kind where you sit with a problem for an hour, try three wrong approaches, and then something clicks. That feeling. I’d like kids to experience that early.

The idea is a small group, maybe 6–8 students. We’d explore patterns, strategy, invariants, creative geometry, counting tricks, maybe even some early economics and decision theory. The focus wouldn’t be speed or grades, but depth and alternative approaches.

Two complications: 1. I’m not a formally trained teacher. 2. I’ve never started anything in education before.

In my head, this looks more like a math circle or enrichment workshop than a school.

But I don’t know where to begin.

If you were building this as an MVP: 1. Would you pilot a short 4–6 week program? 2. What age group would you target 3. How much curriculum do you design before you start? 4. How important are credentials vs demonstrated ability? 5. What are the common mistakes first-time education founders make?

If you’ve started a math circle, tutoring program, micro-school or anything similar, I’d really appreciate hearing what worked, what didn’t, and what you wish you’d known at the beginning.

Thanks.