[Journey] From $0 to getting funded in $1M with a prop firm

Hi everyone,

For most of my life, I've worked online and it's been a hell of a journey. From websites in the late 2010s to affiliate programs in the early Instagram era, there was copywriting, poker playing, etc.

But everything has changed with crypto. I've met the most brilliant, like-minded individuals in this space, discovered a whole new world, and thought it would be all and good because the future is bright.
I didn't have a big account but was making steady progress and at the beginning of 2021, I was confident that would buy a house in 1 year. It would cost me around $30k-$40k in the region where I live. But then the FTX scam happened...

I've lost almost everything but the most important thing was my confidence. I still struggling to find my game and get back on track. I've tried other niches and methods, but the thing is that it's hard to make some decent money in 3rd world country. Moreover, I felt like I was wasting my life on jobs that I hated to do.

One day I was scrolling Twitter and saw a post from a crypto trader I was following. He launched a prop firm and he's making a revolution in this industry right now. Their team is running a trading competition every month (so far) with some amazing prizes: 1st place can get a 500k funded challenge, 2nd - 300k... and 16th-30th place - 10k account.

So, I've decided to start my first journey here and add an element of accountability for myself while trading in this competition. I know that this is a forum for IM so it may be not so relevant. But the thing is that I want to get funded with all it takes. This prop firm has an affiliate program and I will be glad to exchange any experience and take some advice on how to generate traffic (or any other idea).
Generally, this will be a trading thread but it won't be limited on this topic. I will post regular updates at the end of a trading day. Grinding starts on September 1.

Good luck with your journey and I will definitely be following.

Becoming a funded trader was my goal as well (still sorta is) but I just don't have the time at the moment to study trading as it just takes too much time that I don't have every day so I didn't want to "half-ass" it and put it on hold I have a shelf full of books that still wait their time.

Raccon said:

One day I was scrolling Twitter and saw a post from a crypto trader I was following. He launched a prop firm and he's making a revolution in this industry right now.

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Are you talking about Paladin? If so then I am following him as well.

Just an idea for you: Learning trading takes years (that you most definitely already know) so once you are on this road then try to take the max out of it. You can create trading-related Twitter accounts and use some automation tools or grow them by hand using rehashed content (you don't need extensive knowledge really... trading quotes and book quotes should work too). Those leads (your followers) will generate a lot of money in the future if you plan to monetize them. 1000 paying leads = $50,000 easily and on Twitter it's not that hard to grow trading accounts if you hold yourself accountable for being active & posting.

This way you can learn trading and grow your trading-related social media for multiple revenue sources. If you engage with other traders by commenting and being active in different topics then it helps you to develop a good habit of being present all the time and I have found that it helps a lot in understanding the business in general.

Good luck with the journey.

INCC said:

Are you talking about Paladin? If so then I am following him as well.

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I think paladin is trading forex or indices

Metug said:

I think paladin is trading forex or indices

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You are correct on that.

I only know 2 traders who have created their own prop firms. One of them is Paladin and the other is: https://twitter.com/MattLCEO - He runs MyFundedFX and I think that's one of the most successful prop firms at the moment. (definitely the most transparent and customer-oriented)

MyFundedFX gave me a follow on Twitter for unsolicited SEO advice I had my 15 minutes to shine.

Following this journey

INCC said:

You are correct on that.

I only know 2 traders who have created their own prop firms. One of them is Paladin and the other is: https://twitter.com/MattLCEO - He runs MyFundedFX and I think that's one of the most successful prop firms at the moment. (definitely the most transparent and customer-oriented)

MyFundedFX gave me a follow on Twitter for unsolicited SEO advice I had my 15 minutes to shine.

Click to expand...

There is also Lamboraul and Cuebanks too.

I'll stay tuned

Let's see if this journey gets past page 2

So, what's the plan?

I've reviewed past competitions and realized that in order to be ITM (at least in 30th place) I need to make 50%+ to my initial balance (100%+ to be in the top 3). That's a tough task because there are certain rules to follow:

Max daily drawdown is 5 %
Max overall drawdown is 10 %

So you can't just all-in with your whole margin and expect to make it. Even if you get one lucky day, the next 24 hours will renew your allowed risk. For example, if I've managed to add 10% to my account, I can't risk that additional money or I will be disqualified.

The main focus will be on catching small intra-day moves and looking for a possible big swing after liquidity returns on markets in September. This is challenging because of 3 factors: it's not enough to spot a move, I need to aggressively scale in, AND time the reversal to not lose potential gains.
I have never done this before and it will put a tremendous amount of pressure on me and my psychology.

P.S.: I will plan to trade GBP-USD (bearish outlook), and EUR-AUD (bullish outlook). I thought about adding crypto but they allow only x2 leverage on that instrument and crypto is moving once a month these days.

Let's see how I will handle this challenge. 2 days left.

INCC said:

Are you talking about Paladin? If so then I am following him as well.

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TraderT
MFF looks trustworthy but with the recent beef with Noman Iqbal, I'm not so sure tbh.

Trading Day #1

Today was a tough one but I've managed somehow to grab some pips. It's the first day of the month, Friday, Non-farm employment change...
But luck was on my side, +1.4% on account


What could be done better?
I missed the Asian session (woke up, realized that I was still tired, and went back to sleep). There were 2 setups that could be taken: 1 would stop me out for 1R and the second one would make me 2R. I will try to adjust my schedule and wake up at 4 a.m. but it's better to have a good rest than chase the trades feeling exhausted.

The next failure was with a long position in EUR-AUD. I took profit too early because I anticipated a dump in GBP-USD. Result: EUR-AUD went to my TP and GBP-USD dumped instantly leaving me on the fence.
===============

I've started posting on my Twitter that I used only for reading (an old account with some fake followers). The same is true for LinkedIn (currently 6014 connections) + reposting in groups. Surprisingly I got around 30 clicks to my affiliate link so far.

===============
The weekend will be spent lurking into some guides from Twitter about affiliate marketing, lead gen, and how I can do this more efficiently with the help of AI. I have no clue how I will manage this thing because trading requires full focus itself, but let's see.

Raccon said:

Trading Day #1

Today was a tough one but I've managed somehow to grab some pips. It's the first day of the month, Friday, Non-farm employment change...
But luck was on my side, +1.4% on account
View attachment 281729

What could be done better?
I missed the Asian session (woke up, realized that I was still tired, and went back to sleep). There were 2 setups that could be taken: 1 would stop me out for 1R and the second one would make me 2R. I will try to adjust my schedule and wake up at 4 a.m. but it's better to have a good rest than chase the trades feeling exhausted.

The next failure was with a long position in EUR-AUD. I took profit too early because I anticipated a dump in GBP-USD. Result: EUR-AUD went to my TP and GBP-USD dumped instantly leaving me on the fence.
===============

I've started posting on my Twitter that I used only for reading (an old account with some fake followers). The same is true for LinkedIn (currently 6014 connections) + reposting in groups. Surprisingly I got around 30 clicks to my affiliate link so far.

===============
The weekend will be spent lurking into some guides from Twitter about affiliate marketing, lead gen, and how I can do this more efficiently with the help of AI. I have no clue how I will manage this thing because trading requires full focus itself, but let's see.

Click to expand...

I think you shouldnt be worried about the Asian session as there is not enough movement like London or Newyork sessions.
Also, I dont know your strategy but try not to take more than 1 trade per day. It can help with your psychology.
And how much risk on that 100k account as percentage?

Good luck, have a good day.

Metug said:

I think you shouldnt be worried about the Asian session as there is not enough movement like London or Newyork sessions.
Also, I dont know your strategy but try not to take more than 1 trade per day. It can help with your psychology.
And how much risk on that 100k account as percentage?

Good luck, have a good day.

Click to expand...

1) The Asian session works great for EUR-AUD. But if you trade major pairs like EUR-USD or GBP-USD then I would agree with this statement. No volume, no setups for majors.

2) I can't afford to take 1 trade per day, I MUST take more trades and/or risk more.
It will be 20 trading days in this month. Let's assume I'm taking 1 trade/day, with 2:1 RR and 60% (at best). If I'm risking 1% per trade, then I will have 8 losing trades (-8%) and 12 winning trades (+24%). The final result will be 16%. This won't get me even in the top 50.
Don't get me wrong, 16% per month is a phenomenal result but in order to beat gamblers I must lean more to the risky side too.

3) For now, I'm risking 0.5% per trade. If it will give me at least 4 setups per day with 2:1RR I have a chance to make 35% (assuming my WR will stay around 60%). This is closer to the top 30 (ITM).
But it's a big IF and I will be looking for trades where I can aggressively add to the position.

Raccon said:

One day I was scrolling Twitter and saw a post from a crypto trader I was following. He launched a prop firm and he's making a revolution in this industry right now. Their team is running a trading competition every month (so far) with some amazing prizes: 1st place can get a 500k funded challenge, 2nd - 300k... and 16th-30th place - 10k account.

Click to expand...

Very interesting journey. So this competition involves investing money? Or it's under simulated conditions?

Emlicorm said:

Very interesting journey. So this competition involves investing money? Or it's under simulated conditions?

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It's free, but you need to be a client I guess. But the cheapest challenge is $59 now so it's not a big deal.

Trading competitions are going on every month, but I've heard that they may close them soon. Probably just rumors.

Good luck

Those firms are a scam.

CFTC Charges “My Forex Funds” with Fraudulently Taking Over $300 Million From Customers Hoping to Become Professional Traders
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8771-23

Not a fan of Prop Companies.
If you are a good Trader. I think you should focus on your Personal ability to generate money from Trading and Get funds from people that are willing to invest in you.

Trading Day #2

Monday is the worst day for trading but I've got to trade. More iterations, and more deliberate action lead to quality experience. At least, I believe it's true.

I've longed EUR-AUD in the Asian session, it didn't hit my TP but my gut feeling told me to get out. I saved some bullets for GBP-USD short but this time they got me.
Then one lucky long of EUR-AUD gave me confidence, and after that, I shorted everything on the way up. Hit 5 stops in a row. Still think that GBP will dump hard, but I'm out for today with a small loss.

DavidG1510 said:

Not a fan of Prop Companies.
If you are a good Trader. I think you should focus on your Personal ability to generate money from Trading and Get funds from people that are willing to invest in you.

Click to expand...

Or you can try prop firms, keep a track record and get funds from people that are willing to invest in you in case everything goes to shit.

If you can show me a steady record of 6 Months. From a Regulated Company (Regulated by FCA / ASIC) like Pepperstone
I would be very interested