Calculated Conversations: Matiks and Turning Mental Math into a Competitive Sport, with Mohan Kumar

Mohan Kumar discusses the psychology behind math anxiety, how Matiks uses real-time duels to build mental speed and confidence, and why fun must drive the design of educational games.

In this episode of Calculated Conversations, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mohan Kumar, co-founder of Matiks, a fast-growing platform that is making mental math fun and competitive. What began as a simple love for numbers has grown into a movement inspiring other people around the world to build confidence through real-time duels and problem-solving. In our conversation, Mohan shares insights on the psychology behind math anxiety, how his background in art and music influences product design, and why fun needs to come before logic when building educational games. We also explore how Matiks is evolving into more than just an app, becoming a digital community that is redefining how…

What inspired the idea of turning math into a “sport” with Matiks, and what is the early feedback been like?

I was always decent at math, topped my school and won multiple school and district-level Olympiads. But I also saw a stark contrast: many people around me were afraid of math. I always wondered, why do people hate such a beautiful subject? That question became clearer when I met Sudhanshu Bhatia, a world champion in mental math. He was easily 4-5x faster than me with numbers. Watching him made me realize an important pattern: those who are strong in basic mental math never struggle with the subject. The fear of math, in most cases, comes from weak fundamentals; if someone masters basic calculations, that fear just disappears. Our third co-founder, Sushant Timmapur, is also a national-level…

How have your backgrounds in art and music influenced the way you design educational games?

I have never really seen things as “subjects” to be studied. Whether it was art, music, or even math, I just gave my 100% to whatever I genuinely enjoyed. I was good at art and music, but more than that, I enjoyed sketching, creating, and playing instruments. I never approached them with the pressure of exams or marks. That same mindset shapes how we design Matiks. People love to play games not because they are told to, but because it is fun and social. So we thought, why not turn math into that same kind of experience? We designed Matiks to give users the same dopamine hit they get from winning a game or solving a puzzle, except here, they are also improving their mental aptitude. It is…