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Getting Started as a Funded Trader
Funded trading isn't a lottery ticket — it's a process. Here's the actual path, in order.
"Getting funded" gets thrown around like it's a hack. It isn't. It's the result of learning a real skill, proving it under a firm's evaluation rules, and managing risk well enough — over and over — that a firm is willing to trade you their capital. Skip a step and you'll usually find out the expensive way. Here's the path we teach.
The Path
- 01
Learn the Mechanics First
Before position sizing or risk rules mean anything, you need to actually understand futures contracts: tick value, margin, contract specs, how an order actually fills. This is unglamorous and it's also the part most people skip — don't.
See our Education library → - 02
Build a Risk Framework, Not a Feeling
Every trade needs a defined risk before you ever place it — how much you're willing to lose, not how much you're hoping to make. This is where discipline gets built or where accounts get blown. There's no shortcut here; it's repetition.
- 03
Practice Until It's Boring
Simulate or paper-trade your plan until executing it isn't emotional anymore. If you can't follow your own risk rules in a demo, an evaluation account won't fix that — funded capital adds pressure, it doesn't add discipline.
- 04
Choose an Evaluation That Fits How You Trade
Every prop firm structures its evaluation differently — account size, drawdown rules, time limits, profit splits. Pick based on your actual trading style and risk tolerance, not whichever firm has the loudest ad.
Compare prop firms → - 05
Pass the Evaluation, Stay Fundable
Passing gets you funded. Staying funded is a different skill — consistency, not a single good week. Firms fund traders who can repeat a process, not traders who got a lucky run.
- 06
Scale on Your Own Terms
Once you're funded and consistent, scaling is about adding accounts, size, or firms deliberately — not chasing bigger risk because a bigger number sounds better. The skill that got you here is the same skill that keeps you here.
None of this is guaranteed, and it isn't fast. It's a skill — the same one we teach everywhere else on this site. Not talent. Not luck. Something you actually build.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get funded?
It varies by person and firm — this isn't a fixed timeline. It depends on your evaluation performance and the firm's own rules. Same-day is not the commitment; building the skill properly is.
Do I need experience with futures before starting?
No, but you do need to actually learn the mechanics (Step 1) before attempting an evaluation. Skipping this step is the most common way accounts get blown early.