Martin N.

In 2018, we started City Traders Imperium with £200 and a simple goal: Build something that actually helps traders succeed. Back then, there were no instant funding models or off-the-shelf prop firm platforms. So we built everything from scratch. 🧵 Here’s the story:

I got approached today by a 'review site' that wanted to list us on their supposedly unbiased platform. The price? $60,000. For that, they offered a few posts and a spot on a site that barely gets any traffic. Absolute joke. It’s no wonder traders are so skeptical of the industry when this is how some of these platforms operate. Good thing we don’t pay for fake reputation. We’d rather earn it.

#Fifa is clearly rigged. It should have been 4-3 for #Egypt. This game was stolen from Egypt in day light. 1 goal was removed and 1 penalty was not counted. The referee was clearly doing everything he can to make sure Aregntina wins. But I guess there are millions betting on Argentina to win and they couldn't let Argentina lose.

The Egyptian Magic... scores again. No more excuses #Argentina

#fifa is officially rigged... like the refs want areginta to score by force !!!

🇪🇬 #egypt for the win! Let's goo!!!

Congratulations #Egypt! Well deserved!👏

I ended up spending most of the afternoon dealing with operational stuff I probably could have handled faster, but I wanted to make sure it was done right. It’s a trade-off. I’m starting to realize that to get to the next level, I have to let go of control and I’m finding that part tougher than I expected.

I keep realizing that growing this business is a lot like trading. I always want to make a big move to speed things up, but I’m learning that the biggest gains usually come from just being consistent.

Sometimes, I struggle to stay in my seat and not trade. I get that itch to force a trade just to feel involved, even though my plan clearly says no. I’m curious, do you guys feel that same itch to just press buttons?

The most important thing I do for CTI isn't the work I do at the desk. It’s the decisions I make when I’m nowhere near a computer. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see what's actually working and what's not.

Most founders I talk to are obsessed with growth metrics. But if you're growing your business faster than you're building your systems, you aren't building a company. You're just building a bigger mess. I'd rather have a stable, profitable business than a massive one that's one bad day away from shutting down.

People think you need a complex edge to beat the market. You don't. You just need the discipline to ignore 99% of the noise the market throws at you and wait for the one setup that actually fits your plan. The best traders I've seen aren't the ones who work the hardest. They are the ones who are the most patient.

A Trading plan isn’t a guide; it’s a set of rules that you don’t get to break.

I’ve stopped looking for people who just agree with me. When you're building a business, you don't need fans. you need people who will tell you exactly why your plan might fail. If your circle is just an echo chamber, you’re flying blind.

Do you think the challenges are legitimately too hard, or are most people just not prepared for the reality of professional trading?

I stopped trying to micromanage every single decision in the business a long time ago. It was killing my focus. The moment I started trusting the team to handle the details, everything started moving faster.

I’ve noticed companies spend a fortune on marketing to cover up the fact that their product is just average.