Martin Kramny

I initially joined Traderscale toward the end of 2024. At the time, I had a foundational understanding of technical analysis and basic market patterns, but I ultimately breached my first account. Looking back, I realized I didn’t yet have a clear trading edge, a deep mastery of my strategy, or the emotional discipline required to execute consistently.

At the time, I was a student, and my main source of income came from working seasonal summer jobs as a chef. Currently, I am continuing my education as a college student while managing my trading journey.

I decided to try a funded program primarily because I lacked substantial personal capital to trade with, and prop firms offer incredible potential upside without risking my life savings while still learning. It gave me a safe structure to build my skills without the threat of losing all my personal funds early on.

I chose Traderscale specifically because it was heavily recommended by members of a trading community I was part of, and their positive experiences gave me the confidence to dive in.

Altogether throughout my trading journey, I purchased about 20 challenge accounts across different platforms as I worked on refining my approach and discipline. With Traderscale, it took me four accounts to secure my first payout.

One. However I switched to Instant challenges the moment it was possible — they are, in my opinion, the better choice.

Many of my early attempts went wrong due to a combination of overleveraging, poor risk management, and forcing trades out of frustration.

However, after each failed account, I made it a point to treat the loss as a learning experience. I carefully reviewed what went wrong, worked hard to avoid repeating the same mistakes on the next attempt, and continuously refined both my strategy and mindset with every setback.

I started off with a 50K challenge and scaled up over time.

Currently just one.

It varied depending on market conditions, but generally, each phase took me roughly one and a half months to complete.

My trading strategy is primarily based on price action, focusing on higher timeframes like the 4-hour and 8-hour charts. I rely heavily on identifying key price levels and market structure, while utilizing Fibonacci retracements to find high-probability setups and entries.

What almost made me quit was the sheer weight of time and financial loss. Dedicating every single day for four or five years to learning and trading, only to find myself thousands of dollars in the red from breached accounts, was incredibly discouraging and emotionally exhausting.

What kept me going through those dark moments was deep trust in the process — knowing that if I stayed persistent, kept refining my strategy, and learned from every single mistake, the path to consistency and profitability would eventually open up.

This whole journey has been a bit bittersweet, but it ultimately proved to me that hard work truly pays off.

Looking back, what really sticks with me are the endless sleepless nights spent analyzing the markets, waiting for entries, and that intense, racing heartbeat during major news releases. Experiencing all of those high-pressure moments accumulate into a very successful payout was deeply rewarding, and I hope it’s just the first of many to come.

If we count my very first account, then 2 years. From the moment I bought my last challenge that I received the payout from, that was about a month.

It was $10,654.85, and it felt like all the time spent learning and failing has finally paid off.

It means mostly proof of my ability to navigate the financial markets, and I plan to use it to fund a larger account for my future trading.

To be honest, no. Everything went smoothly.

I would tell them that if you want to succeed in this industry, you truly have to have a genuine passion for it. You can’t just approach trading as a part-time hobby or work on it every other week; it requires relentless persistence and daily consistency to overcome the challenges and reach your ultimate goals.

I wish I’d known how important emotions are in trading and how you need to control them.