SmartFlow Trading Founder Ivailo Chaushev Featured in Business Insider

I’m Ivailo Chaushev, founder of SmartFlow Trading. Business Insider recently interviewed me about what 16 years in the markets have taught me. Samuel O’Brient’s article covers leverage, meme stocks, and the idea that trading is a fast route to wealth.

One point I wanted to expand on is that being wrong is a normal part of trading. What matters is what happens to your account when you are wrong. A high win rate means little if one oversized position wipes out the gains from ten good trades.

Before I put on a trade, I want to know what would invalidate the idea, how much I stand to lose, and whether I am comfortable holding the position if conditions change. If I cannot answer those questions, I would rather reduce the size or stay in cash. I do not need more leverage to make a market view worthwhile.

The same thinking applies to stocks attracting a lot of attention on social media. A sharp move can be worth investigating, but hype alone is not a reason for me to buy. I want to understand the underlying business, the positioning, and the risk of arriving after most of the move has already happened.

That is also how I approach the work at SmartFlow Trading. We look at market positioning, institutional activity, options flow, and macro conditions to put a move in context. Those inputs help inform a decision; none of them removes the need to manage risk.

Trading takes time. The goal is to keep improving your process and preserve enough capital and flexibility to act when a genuinely good opportunity comes along.