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Success Stories

How These Three Traders Reached INSANE Growth

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 1/4/2023 17 min read

We last caught up with the TWIST traders — Jack Kellogg, Matthew Monaco, and Kyle Williams — in September 2020. This was before a market-wide pullback led to one of the all-time bull runs…

As of the last update, they’d reached $1 million as a group … Now they’ve each become millionaire traders.* What a crazy seven months!

Today I’ll share the amazing profits they made over the past year and some other incredible updates.

Jack, Matt, and Kyle have learned to execute the patterns I teach in my Trading Challenge like pros. It’s so gratifying to see … Especially considering how long they’d been my students before becoming profitable.*

These are the traders I have in mind when I talk about hard work and discipline paying off.

But I’m even prouder of what they do as the markets slow down and chop around. More on that in a bit.

And what’s the most rewarding thing to see as a teacher? When the traders you trained not only succeed but do good in the world.

In the end, that’s what this is all about. Let’s catch up with these three…

(*Please note that these kinds of trading results are not typical and do not reflect the experience of the majority of individuals using our products.  From January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, typical users of the products and services offered by this website reported earning, on average, an estimated $49.91 in profit. This figure is taken from tracking user accounts on Profit.ly, a trading community platform. It takes years of dedication, hard work, and discipline to learn how to trade. Individual results will vary. Trading is inherently risky. Before making any trades, remember to do your due diligence and never risk more than you can afford to lose. I’ve hired Matt, Kyle, and Jack to assist in my education business.)

One Year of TWIST

This time last year, the first episode of the TWIST podcast — ‘This Week in SteadyTrade’ — came out.

Jack’s lifetime profits were around $300,000 then.* Now he’s one of my top traders EVER, with over $6.3 million in profits.*

How about Kyle? In mid-April 2020, Kyle was just shy of $200,000 in lifetime profits.* Now he’s over $1.7 million.*

Then there’s Matt. In mid-April 2020, he was just above PDT with less than $40,000*… Now Matt’s grown his account to over $1.6 million.*

If you’ve followed their journeys and know how hard they studied to find their setups … you understand these gains didn’t happen overnight.

They’ve spent YEARS studying in my Trading Challenge, showing up every day. Way before they became millionaire traders, they were leaders in my Trading Challenge.*

People listen to them because they’re knowledgeable. They’re not shy about breaking down stock charts and trading plans.

But their trading took a leap when they found each other. Trading isn’t easy. You need to study constantly. Even then, there are no guarantees that you’ll make money.

Many people give up before then. The TWIST traders formed a tight group and then kept each other accountable. I wish I had the time to support every trader the way these guys do for each other…

But I don’t.

That’s why I’m so pleased that Kyle, Matt, and Jack are out there. And that they’ve started teaching.

Their podcast has grown too with so many awesome guests. They work to keep their shows smart and inventive.

Check out the TWIST podcast here.

Jack Kellogg: A Millionaire Trader Several Times Over*

Jack became a millionaire trader on November 5, 2020.*

Pretty nice to go into the holidays with, right? Maybe take a vacation? Instead, he did this:

Let’s look at Jack’s last few months on Profit.ly. That’s the community I founded to help traders track trades and be transparent

Seeing ALL of a trader’s moves, wins and losses, is the only way you can trust any profit claims in this crazy niche.

Most of my top students have Profit.ly accounts. But guess who’s on top of the Profit.ly leaderboard for the past 90 days? Jack, with $4.22 million.*

He’s got to cool off at some point, right? Let’s check out the top earners for the past 30 days…

Jack’s on top again. He banked $436,000 in a choppy month.* If you know Jack’s journey, you know this has been a long time coming.

What you may not know is that Jack was my student WAY before he started trading. He joined the Trading Challenge in January 2017. From that point, he was all in. Now he’s nailing the setups I teach in my 7-Step Pennystocking Framework

How Jack Trades Now

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On March 10, GameStop (NYSE: GME) went parabolic again. Jack had seen this before…

GME’s penny stock days were long gone, but it still traded like one.

Jack used step #5 of my Framework to dip buy an intraday panic for $107,000* … Then he used step #6 — ‘The Dead Pump Bounce’ — for a $100,000 profit.*

GME stock chart
GME March 10 chart, 1-minute candles — courtesy of StocksToTrade.com

The green arrows and circles point to the step #5 pattern he used. The red arrows and circles are step #6.

I made my 7-Step Pennystocking Framework DVD in 2011. There’s a reason that top traders like Jack still use it…

It still works. Jack was able to use it in such a big trade because he learned the material so well and slowly scaled up his positions over years. That’s what makes an exceptional trader.

How Jack Gives Back

So Jack is all work and no play, right? Well, he still made time during his best trading month ever to help build a school.*

The Jack Kellogg Learning Center is the 74th school/library built by my charity Karmagawa. It was the 25th school we built in Bali.

Way back in 2017, when he was starting out, Jack shared his goals. Third on his list, he wrote, “I will not feel successful until I open a school.”

I’m proud of Jack for hitting the million-dollar mark* and doing good for humanity.

Matt Monaco: From Student to Teacher

Matt’s another trader who put in the work long before he saw any effect.

Matt never stops working to improve himself. Ever since he joined my Challenge in 2017, he’s been all about the work.

But only in the past year has it started paying off for him.* Like Jack, he was a leader in my Challenge before he became a top trader.

He knew my training material so well that he gave me the idea for my 30-Day Bootcamp

My Trading Challenge webinar archive has 7,000-plus videos. When you add in all of my DVDs and all the no-cost material on my blog and YouTube channel … It’s a heck of a mountain to climb.

Matt helped me turn my 20+ years of trading into 30 days of essential trading lessons. And he says that all of the research he put in helped him.

He posted his last 30-Day Bootcamp bonus video when he crossed $250,000 in profits.* This latest video marks his becoming another one of my millionaire students.*

What’s even more incredible — he did this all in the past year — and more…

Riding the Small Cap Rockets

Matt’s become an expert in OTC breakouts. He’s so good at trading them that the team at StocksToTrade hired him to help run the Small Cap Rockets alert service with John Papa and Tim Bohen.

Subscribers to this add-on to StocksToTrade get access to their trade plans every morning … Then watch the way he trades stocks that match his preferred setups.

Remember — no trader should ever copy another trader’s setups. That’s not the reason that Matt, Tim, and John put out these alerts. It’s another opportunity for traders to learn the process that goes into trading.

Check out this example with Greene Concepts, Inc. (OTCPK: INKW). This breakout happened on February 2.

INKW stock chart
Greene Concepts, Inc. (OTCPK: INKW) February 2 chart, one-minute candles (Source: StocksToTrade)

This is a textbook OTC breakout. And INKW was a former runner

Matt put it on his watchlist when news on the stock hit. He alerted it to Small Cap Rockets subscribers on its first green day.

Matt entered the trade at $0.034 and sold into strength on its way up to $0.05. The next day, INKW hit a high of $0.1352. That’s a 400% move! He made $38,000 on the trade.*

Add Small Cap Rockets onto your StocksToTrade subscription here.

(Quick disclaimer: Matt’s results are not typical. Most traders lose. Also, I helped design and develop StocksToTrade. Results of add-on services aren’t typical or guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future returns and financial investing is inherently risky.)

Building His Account … and a School

You know what I like even more? He bankrolled the latest school Karmagawa built with the Bali Children’s Project.

This was our 75th school and our 26th in Bali.

A little bit of competition is a good thing. I love seeing Jack, Matt, and Kyle spur each other on in trading. When that competition becomes about doing good in the world, I know they’re getting it.

Kyle Williams: The Veteran of the Bunch

Jack and Matt were both at it for a long time before breaking through…

But Kyle’s road to $1 million took even longer.* He’s been my student since 2016. So you KNOW we welcomed him to the club in full-on veggie style…

Here’s the thing. Even in that first year when Kyle lost money, I had a good feeling about him.

He was a gym rat before becoming a trader. He works out four times a week, never skipping a session.

Kyle applied that level of discipline to his trading … and worked his tail off to shift the odds in his favor.*

Like the other TWIST traders, he became a leader early on in the Challenge chat room. Other students noticed the attention to detail and mindset he put into his trading webinars.

Here’s a comment from one of my Challenge students:

AveryG — kylecw2: Great vid. Similar to a practice in meditation called ‘noting.’ Just acknowledging a feeling and saying “Oh that’s frustration.”

This is the special sauce he brings to the TWIST trio. Kyle’s learned how to master his own emotions. And he’s learned that emotions are a lot easier to control than the market.

Breakouts & Breakdowns

A few months ago, Kyle and Jack launched a StocksToTrade alert service called Breakouts & Breakdowns.

Like Small Cap Rockets, it’s available as an add-on for StocksToTrade subscribers.

It takes the lessons I teach in the Trading Challenge … And it gives them the Kyle and Jack treatment.

Subscribers get alerted to potential trades on the pair’s radar. These are NOT for copying. They’re for studying, just like all trade alerts.

And, just like my Trading Challenge, they’ll only help you if you’re serious about building your knowledge foundation for trading.

supernova placement

You’ll get access to bi-weekly live strategy webinars with Kyle and Jack. You’ll also get stock scans that Kyle created and uses daily.

If you’re committed to the long path they both took, these resources might help get you there.

Add Breakouts & Breakdowns onto your StocksToTrade subscription here.

Why These Traders Are Still in My Trading Challenge

Listen … I love talking about my growing stable of millionaire students.*

Any trader who puts in the kind of work that Kyle, Matt, and Jack have has GOALS to work toward. If you don’t have goals, you won’t succeed in ANYTHING.

To be clear, you can still find Matt, Jack, and Kyle in my Challenge. But now they’re chat room moderators, not students. They teach patterns and process like I do, with their own spin.

They also lead webinars for my Challenge students. Why are they still around? They’re committed to the journey and the community.

These top traders found success because they focus on things in their control … like hard work, studying, and teaching. They’re lifers. They enjoy this job!

Check out the “office” that Kyle, new millionaire Challenge trader Mike “Huddie” Hudson, and I traded from recently*…

Conclusion

What’s better than big milestones? Seeing traders like these three continue to grow and learn. As the markets got choppy, they worked to protect their gains. They limited their risk, only looking for their best setups.

They put more time into teaching. All three of them now work with me, teaching the steps they’ve taken to get where they are.

Ready to learn more? Check out my FREE resources, like my penny stock guide.

And if you’re willing to put in the work and care more about process than profits…

Apply for my Trading Challenge.

I don’t accept everyone. That’s because I want to keep the Challenge chat room the best, most collaborative space around. So you must be ready to commit to studying harder than ever.

If that’s you, you’ll fit right in with my top students. And maybe one day you’ll join their ranks.

How INSPIRED are you by these top traders’ stories? What have you learned that you can apply to your trading? Let me know in the comments — I love hearing from you!


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Author card Timothy Sykes picture

Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity. Read More

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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”