 Byster used to work as a floor trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, but after his cousin, a math teacher in a Chicago area high school, invited him to show the class his shortcuts for doing base 10 arithmetic, Byster quit his job to devote himself to teaching children his methods.After that, he continued to do shows for free to schools across the United States.In December 2003, he released the website Mike's Math, but this was discontinued in 2007.