“Stay in your lane, put in the work, don’t worry, don’t hurry, trust your process, and always bet on yourself.”
Josh V., 40 years old, from Canada, has completed our Extra Buying Power program. He is now a TTP-funded trader, managing a $160,000 account—or as we like to call him, a true “Stock Star.”
Every time he reaches five consecutive winning days, we boost his buying power and maximize his exposure.
We spoke with Josh about his trading plan, insights, and lessons gained while trading in the markets and on our platform as a funded trader.
Watch The Interview With Josh
Josh’s evaluation statistics
Q&A’s With Josh
Josh, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve been working full-time in various roles within the Energy sector since graduating from university. When COVID-19 hit and lockdowns became the norm, I realized how crucial it was to have a skill set that could generate an income from home. That moment prompted me to delve deeper into the world of trading.
How long have you been trading?
I’ve been trading for five years, and I’m a part-time trader.
Briefly describe your trading plan and how it contributes to your success.
At a high level, I focus on only four symbols. I look for high-probability setups near key moving averages such as the 20MA, 200MA, and VWAP. I execute trades primarily on the 3-minute, 5-minute, and 15-minute charts. My targets are usually 2:1 or 3:1 R/R, and I try to limit trades to 2–4 per day. If I lose two trades in a row, I stop trading—unless the market is trending and I see clear setups in my watchlist.
Please share with us a challenge you faced in your trading career and how you overcame it.
There were many challenges in my journey—impatience, overtrading, revenge trading, and FOMO. I overcame them by recognizing recurring bad habits through post-trade analysis. Becoming self-aware and conscious of my actions in real time helped immensely. It’s crucial to learn every lesson the market teaches you. You can learn it on the second recurrence or the sixtieth. However, to advance, you must internalize those lessons and make the necessary adjustments. Your progress depends entirely on you.
How did you adjust risk management to your trading personality?
I’ve tried many risk management approaches found online, including dynamic risk and risk laddering. That’s where you increase your risk after achieving 10R at your current level. The amount of risk you take per trade is very subjective. It depends on your trading stage and whether you’ve identified a profitable edge. If you have a solid edge and avoid overtrading, I’d recommend the dynamic risk approach.
Describe a key moment in your trading career.
A turning point was realizing that less is more and understanding the importance of mental capital. Early on, I used scanners to find big gainers and highly volatile stocks. That overextended my watchlist and made me anxious, as I constantly feared missing a move. It was mentally exhausting and hurt my performance. Over time, I realized that chasing volatility didn’t suit my personality.
I narrowed my focus to a few back-tested, high-volume symbols with clean price action. That focus gave me multiple tradeable setups daily. I just had to be patient and wait for my opportunity.
How long did it take for you to become a consistent trader, and what aspects did you change for that?
It took me five years to reach consistency. My biggest obstacle was fear of loss. Often, I had great entries and well-placed stop losses, but I adjusted my stops too early to reduce risk. That caused me to get stopped out before the trade worked in my favor. It was demoralizing and kept me stuck in a destructive loop. The breakthrough came when I decided to trust my analysis and let go of short-term fear.
I leveraged my experience and focused on long-term outcomes rather than daily profit and loss (P&L). Once I stopped letting short-term results affect my mindset, consistency followed.
What is your mental/psychological strength, and how did you develop it
My strength lies in having a growth mindset and a long-term perspective. This attitude enables me to persevere through challenging times without feeling defeated. I’ve always been motivated by personal development and self-improvement. That drive has naturally spilled over into trading.
What was your strategy for successfully passing the evaluation phase?
I trusted my analysis and allowed trades to play out without micromanagement. I focused on clean profit targets instead of chasing home runs. Not being greedy and taking what the market offers builds both confidence and mental capital.
How is trading for Trade The Pool different from trading by yourself?
When you prove that you’re consistent and profitable, you enjoy all the upside without risking personal capital. With TTP, it’s an asymmetric opportunity where your buying power grows as your consistency improves. Few prop firms allow such a wide variety of stocks, which makes TTP, in my opinion, a no-brainer for serious traders.
What would you recommend to someone who is just starting with us?
Be objective about your current skill level. Once you have a solid process and a clear edge, scaling up becomes easier. TTP’s different tiers suit all levels. The Mini Buying Power challenge helps you learn the basics, while the Ultimate Buying Power challenge gives experienced traders room to grow without risking their own funds. Passing on the first try is tough, so don’t get discouraged. Be prepared to face multiple challenges if you’re serious about securing funding.
Share online resources that were/are significant in your trading development. Names and links are appreciated.
YouTube content from Raja Banks, Navin Prithyani, Stacey Burke, Oliver Velez, Jerremy Newsome, and Scarface Trades has helped me immensely. Studying their trading styles allowed me to develop my own approach.
Would you like to share anything else with us?
I believe that people who become truly successful share two key qualities—passion and a constant drive for mastery. If you have those, you won’t worry about how long it takes to become consistent. Your focus will stay on improvement and experience. Many traders chase quick profits, but if you focus on fast money, you’ll lose it just as fast. My advice is simple: stay in your lane, put in the work, don’t worry, don’t hurry, trust your process, and always bet on yourself.
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