After months of trading on my own, I’d hit a rut. It wasn’t that things were going poorly, it was that I felt I didn’t have the room to try new things. I couldn’t risk losing what I already had, especially when I’d worked so hard to get there. I wasn’t just thinking about my future. I was thinking about my family’s future, too. And when you’re concerned about your family, everything takes a more serious tone. Simply put: I couldn’t afford to take serious risks—the kind that might change your life on the market. When a friend told me about Try2BFunded, I was intrigued. The pitch was simple: get tested on your skills, see how far you can get, and don’t worry about risk until you’re certified. Now, I was confident in my trading abilities, but I like to match any challenge with some research. I read as much as I could about becoming a professional prop trader via this helpful introductory blog, which laid out exactly what Try2BFunded is all about. I was also encouraged by the fact that there were good reviews out there, and that it was backed by Just2Trade, a broker I’d heard friends in London have success with. There also seemed to be a supportive community which showed traders having success month in, month out. Some people were even posting big profits right away. The last thing I really liked? That I didn’t have to put my own money up beyond a subscription, and the split favored the user by giving me 60% of the cut. With a research base behind me, I was ready to get started. In order to qualify for the second and third round, I had to practice these things: 1) Risk Management I wanted to take risks, but Try2BFunded is clever in that it limits just how risky I could be. If I was losing too much too quickly, I’d be downgraded or paused. That let me really think about my strategy instead of getting greedy. And greed can undo even the smartest of traders. 2) Consistency I didn’t need to trade every single day, nor was it necessarily smart, but I had to stay on top of both my account and my knowledge. By keeping up my research I made sure I could stay ahead of trends and potential pitfalls. Because qualifying for rounds 2 and 3 means hitting a continuous benchmark of gains, I felt I had to stay on it. And I’m glad I did. 3) Avoiding Downside This is where Try2BFunded’s ability to make multiple accounts really came in handy. At first, I’ll admit that I hit some unlucky streaks. It took me a couple of tries to find my rhythm, which meant starting over and experimenting with new strategies. I was grateful to have the space to try new things. Once I’d landed these three traits, I found myself with more and more cash to play with. First $30,000, then $50,000 and now $100,000. The only question, then, is: what would you do with $100,000 to invest?