From $25K to $400K: My Trading Journey & 5 Lessons for New ITPM Traders

$25K → $400K: My Biggest Trading Lessons — a journey filled with wins, setbacks, and the discipline to build a systematic edge

Introduction — My Trading Journey from $25K to $400K

Growing my trading account from $25K to $400K has been one of the most rewarding personal milestones. But let me be honest—I didn’t get here in a straight line. In fact, I saw instant success early on, which gave me a false sense of confidence. I thought I had it all figured out, and that mindset led to painful drawdowns that humbled me fast.

The turning point came when I realized that risk management had to be the core of my edge. Without it, even the best trade ideas could quickly spiral into losses. From that moment on, my focus shifted from chasing wins to building a systematic, risk-conscious process that could last.

Looking back, my trading journey from $25K to $400K isn’t just about hitting a number—it’s about the trader I’ve become along the way. For anyone starting out with ITPM (Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management), here are the five biggest lessons I learned on the road to consistency

1. Trading Is a Journey—Give Yourself Time

That early success I had? It was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it showed me what was possible. On the other, it made me reckless and overconfident. The inevitable drawdowns that followed were tough but necessary—they forced me to face the reality that trading isn’t about luck or bravado.

The biggest lesson I took from those setbacks was this: risk management must be at the heart of your edge. Protecting your capital is what keeps you in the game long enough to build consistency.

Trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Even if you catch a lucky break at the start, you need at least two years of practice, discipline, and self-reflection to truly improve. Don’t rush the process, or the market will remind you why patience matters.

2. Reduce the Noise Around You

In the beginning, I was constantly distracted by news feeds, FinTwit, Discord groups, and endless YouTube content. I thought that if I just followed more people or consumed more information, I’d become a better trader. But the reality was the opposite—it scattered my focus and pulled me away from building my own edge.

A lot of what you see online—whether it’s on social media, YouTube, or X—tends to only show the wins. It’s not necessarily malicious; it’s just more appealing to share the good stuff than to say, “Wow, I really messed up on this trade.” But when all you see are highlights, you end up with a distorted view of what trading actually is.

Once I filtered the content I was consuming to only things that would genuinely assist my process, I was able to reduce the noise. That meant ignoring distracting takes that made no sense for my trading and focusing solely on what added value. In the end, simplicity and relevance became my edge.

3. A Systematic Approach Works

What turned the corner for me was adopting a systematic, top-down and bottom-up approach—a framework emphasized at ITPM. Instead of winging it, I began analyzing macro themes, drilling into company fundamentals, and pairing it with price action to identify opportunities.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just reacting to markets—I was anticipating them. That shift gave me confidence and discipline.

And the crazy part? We live in a time when tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity can give us access to insights that traders before us had to spend hours or even days digging up. Use these tools to your advantage. Build your own research process. It’s cheaper, faster, and it makes you independent.

4. Long-Short Portfolios with Options = Risk Management Gold

This was the single biggest game-changer for me. Running a long-short portfolio with options, a core principle taught at ITPM, gave me a framework for professional-level risk management.

Anton Kreil has long stressed that retail traders should stop thinking like gamblers with long-only strategies and start thinking like portfolio managers. And he’s right. A long-short book with options isn’t just about finding trades—it’s about balancing exposures, protecting downside, and producing better risk-adjusted returns.

This isn’t something you see widely shared online, but once you understand how and why it works, there’s no going back. For me, adopting this framework transformed my trading from random to structured. It gave me the discipline to think like a pro.

5. Forget Psychology—Until You Have an Edge

Here’s a controversial one: psychology is overrated—at least at the start. I’ve seen beginners obsess over mindset when they don’t even have a strategy yet.

The truth is simple: if your trading is random, your results will be random. No amount of mindset hacks will fix that. Build your edge first. Test it. Prove it works. Only then does psychology become useful—helping you scale, stay disciplined, and manage capital effectively.

Psychology amplifies an edge; it doesn’t create one.

Wrapping It Up

Growing my account from $25K to $400K has been one of the most rewarding personal milestones. But it wasn’t about luck or shortcuts—it was about learning the hard way that risk management is the foundation of everything.

By reducing the noise, adopting a systematic process, and applying ITPM’s long-short options framework taught by Anton Kreil, I stopped trading like a retail gambler and started thinking like a portfolio manager.

As I come to this milestone, I’ve hit my next trading journal hurdle: scaling the size of my positions. I know it’s something I need to do, but it remains a roadblock as I continue to be conservative with my risk.

I also know I haven’t been posting much on this blog recently. The truth is, I’ve been more consistent on my X account. That said, I’m going to make an effort to share more useful content here as well. If there’s something specific you’d like to see, please shoot me an email at theinstitutetrader@gmail.com—I’d love to hear from you.

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this article is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or other professional advice. The content reflects the personal opinions of the author based on publicly available information at the time of writing and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decisions. Earnings reviews may contain forward-looking statements that are inherently uncertain and subject to change.

Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and due diligence, and to consult with a qualified financial advisor or licensed professional before making any investment or trading decisions. The author and publisher make no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided and accept no liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on the information herein.