He Went From a Failed Trader to 100% Win Rate (In 30 Days)

My attitude towards the stock market and trading and investing has definitely changed. I see it as perfectly achievable. I think within reason, most people could also be doing this. If I had to try and put a single thing that I want people to take away because they know what I'll pay. A little notice that pops up. It is once you understand that strategy and you know what you're looking at. For me, it was like a light switched on when I got to that stage in the course and I thought that makes a lot of sense. Then I opened up TradingView and I started looking. I thought, jesus Christ. It's actually. This actually does make a hell of a lot of sense. It just. The clarity for me at that point was when it really switched on. As of Thursday last week, my last check, it was 8.8%. Following the strategy, word for word, removing all emotion, just doing the pen strokes of what I've been told, that's what I'm getting. I haven't made a bad decision yet, but following what I've been taught and I do, I do fully believe that I can continue to do this for years to come.

How are you?

Yeah, good, thanks.

Dave, thank you for doing this interview because what I really want to get is people's true opinions about the Fink Academy. It's all well and good, me, you know, saying, oh yeah, it's great, this is what we do and that, but we need real life reviews and other people who have joined it to kind of tell other people how good it is or it might not be, you know, I don't care, but let's go. So tell us a little bit about what you do first and then we'll, we'll start from there. Tell us a bit about yourself.

So I'm originally from the construction industry. I've been in it near enough my entire life. A few little breaks with some other things. Now I focus on acquisitions. I work with a fellow called Graham Edden and we focus on buying businesses in the, the engineering sector, specifically within the horizontal directional drilling market. So that keeps me busy.

Very, very niche. So effectively you're a business owner, higher level, doing multiple different things, which I think interesting because we've actually seen most of the people who have joined the Academy be business owners, which I didn't actually expect. But I guess the first question then is what position were you in before you joined the Academy in terms of trading? Like you don't necessarily have to share numbers, but has there been any additional confidence, extra consistency or any kind of, you know, successes so far.

So I have had some experience with trading up until I joined Think Academy. I actually went On a course, Christ, 15 years ago, which focused on the technical analysis, mostly within Forex. I'm sure you already know how that went. And don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed the technical analysis side of things. Very quickly realized that the market will just ignore my lines. They don't seem to care about what I've drawn or what anyone's drawing, what anyone says they will do what they want to do. So that didn't last very long. I moved on and I'd done the typical thing, you know, I opened a hargreaves and Lansdowne account and I got an isa. I chose a fund and just let it sit there and tick along. Big thing for me was I always knew it could be performing better and I knew that there must be a way of doing it. But my biggest hurdle was I knew it could be better, but I didn't know how to make it better. So that really sums up my very limited experience up until now.

Right, that's interesting. So what were you doing before then? How would you look at the market? And then, I guess if we compare that to how you look at it now, what do you reckon the biggest difference? Differences.

I listened to a lot more noise before I focused on what others were saying. I focused on what Twitter or X is it now called was saying. And I just got enveloped by all the noise that was happening online, which doesn't happen anymore. You know, now I sort of follow the strategy that we're taught at the Think Academy, and that really does cut out the noise. And what I will say, as well as cutting out the noise from what you're doing actually, as a result, lowers your stress levels quite significantly as well. Because, you know, you can click on two different people who are saying things. They might be successful traders, but they were saying two very different things. You sat there thinking, well, now I don't know where I sit now I don't know what I should actually be doing. So it's just giving me that level of clarity.

Exactly. It's all about removing that level of doubt. So would you say that those were your biggest challenges, you know, listening to all of that noise and now that you've been able to refine it down into a system that's kind of, I guess, able to cut all that out? That is probably the biggest plus.

Yeah, that is the biggest plus. It really is the fact that you are able to remove that noise, and also by following the strategy that you, that you teach is by just narrowing down what you're looking at. Because, you know, for anyone new getting into this and looking at the stock markets, if you was to pull up a list of all the available stocks on your platform, you think, where do I even start? There is. There is so many. So being able to filter that down as well, you can really focus your efforts and your time into the stocks that, you know, following the strategy are worth looking at and require a bit more of your time. It just narrows everything down, makes it. I'm not going to say easy, I hate saying the word easy for anything. Just a more focused approach.

It can be made easier, exactly as you say. And I think that clarity is really, really important for me. What was your biggest concern before joining?

My biggest concern was could I do it, pure and simple? My biggest concern for me is I'm a man from construction now. I can operate just about any type of plant you can think of. Within reason, I thought, have I got it in me? You know, is this for the guys in the city? You know, these guys that have been to uni, perhaps they were born into it, which is often the conception that, you know, if you're a stock trader, well, so was your dad. You went to Oxford. And I thought, is it made for people like me? Can a man like me actually do this? And my belief was that I couldn't. That's generally where I sat before this.

And now you kind of feel like, well, you do feel that it's much more achievable and you can actually do it.

Absolutely, yeah. My confidence levels have gone up. My attitude towards the stock market and trading and investing has definitely changed. You know, I see it as an as perfectly achievable. I think within reason, most people could also be doing this.

So when you paid me four figures, how did you feel?

You know what? All right, I have to say. All right, so I've done one course before and I didn't feel ripped off because I learned some stuff. But I thought, you know what? I made a bad choice. I have done no courses since then, other than standard things within my industry that I had to do. I haven't paid anyone, certainly not someone online for a course. But having followed your content on LinkedIn for a little bit, we had a few discussions as well. I knew that this was going to be a good thing to be doing and I knew having that exposure to the kind of people you have within your community on Discord as well was only Going to be a good thing. So I was actually pretty confident going into it, you know, perfect.

Like that. Really, really like that. And I guess if we're getting really, really specific here, which sort of single element was the most helpful to, you know, your investing and how you see.

Things now, it's actually really hard to narrow that down. To be fair, if I had to try and put a single thing that I want people to take away, this thing, you know what, I'll pay a little. Notice that when it pops up, it is the one for 10. I really think that is it. Once you understand that strategy and you know what you're looking at. For me, it was like a light switched on when I got to that stage in the course and I thought, that makes a lot of sense. Then I opened up Trading View and I started looking. I thought, jesus Christ, this actually does make a hell of a lot of sense. It just. The clarity for me at that point was when it really switched on. And obviously you get a bit more in depth after that and it becomes a bit more complex and a little bit more time needed on the studying side. But for me, that was the moment when I really felt like I'd learned a skill for life.

It kind of gives you that understanding of what you actually need to do and what you're looking for, a very, very basic level. Right, so in terms of any results, what have you got so far? It's still early days, I know that. But in terms of any monetary results, what would you say? There's been an outcome so far.

So my account so far now is trading at an 8% return, actually, as of. As of Thursday last week, my last check, it was 8.8% return, which when you think about someone you're putting your cash, that's absolutely massive. You know, I'm not convinced you can achieve that any other way. I say, don't know of another way you can achieve that. So I've gone from being in a position where I was making the occasional good decision to I actually haven't made a bad decision yet. Now I know you're sitting there thinking, just wait, it'll come. I know it will come. But following the strategy, word for word, removing all emotion, just doing the pen strokes of what I've been told. That's what I'm getting. I haven't made a bad decision yet.

What time frame is that? 8% over.

What is it now, four weeks?

A month?

Yeah, yeah, I think it's four weeks.

And that's without. Without using leverage, without using Anything, it's just pure.

Yeah, no, I'm not using any leverage. I also know that's an option, but that's not something I'm looking at. I like keeping things a bit more stress free for myself. That's particularly at the moment. So that is just, literally I'm on the platform and I'm just investing my money via an isa and that's what I'm getting.

What has, apart from the monetary results, but kind of how, how has that impacted you to now be able to think and understand that, okay, I do have this skill for life now, I.

Think especially what I do. And I suppose a lot of business owners will look at the same is there will come a time when you step away from your business, you either sell and exit or you retire, whatever that may be, or you're just looking for more mobility on a global level. It makes me realize actually I can accumulate funds through business, you know, through the good things we do. And I could put it to work myself like I have the ability to be within reason anywhere I want to be and do what I want to do. Buy back some time by becoming a good investor.

Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. How has your perception of being able to become a consistently profitable investor or trader, how has that changed that, that specific perception of what that looks like and whether it's achievable?

Yeah, I mean, I suppose we have touched this slightly, but I mean, to reiterate, it has given me the confidence and, and the skill sets know that I can do this and well, not I can, I am, I'm doing it now. You know, the proof is in the pudding here. Now I've made a start, I'm following what I've been taught and I do, I do fully believe that I can continue to do this for years to come and I plan on doing it. It's gone from being something that interested me to it's actually a part of my routine now. This is a part of my future plan is to continue to learn, to get better, grow my account, obviously, so I can do some more impressive things. But it is a genuine part of my future plan now. And it wasn't a year ago, but now it very much is on the list.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone thinking about joining?

I'd say give it a go. I don't think anyone will regret signing up to the Vink Academy. Allocate yourself a bit of time, clear your head space and get stuck into it. And the other thing I suppose which would be really important is making sure you come into this with a genuine open mind. Ignore everything you've heard so far. All that stuff on X, all the stuff on YouTube and Instagram with these Lambo guys with their Rolexes telling you that you'd be a millionaire by Christmas. You know, come into it, just absorb the information, take some notes and put it into practice.

Who would you recommend Think Academy to?

Business owners? I think is probably where I'd sit, because they're people I can relate to the most. I think anyone who sat there with a business, whatever size, you know you have to prepare for your future. So they're the kind of people that need to really double down on this doesn't have to be business owners, really. Anyone. Anyone who has some capital sat there, doesn't have to be huge amounts, but they know they need to secure their future for themselves or their family. This is the perfect place for them to be.

Final question. How would you describe the transformation from where you started to where you are now in just one sentence?

You know what the thing that's always stuck in my head and the phrase that keeps coming on for me is, it was like a light switch banging on. That's the only way I could describe it. It was almost like a eureka moment. You know that that's probably how I describe it, if I had to sum it up perfect.

Patrick, thank you so much, mate. Appreciate your time.

No problem. David, speak soon.