Alex Temiz

About Alex Temiz

Alex Temiz is a full-time day trader and short seller with over $16 million in trading profits, and a co-founder of the trading education community My Investing Club. He trades small-cap stocks, almost always on the short side, and is known for targeting weak, overhyped companies that are likely to fall. 

He describes his niche simply: Warren Buffett finds the best companies and bets they go up, while he finds the worst companies and bets they go down. His results come from a repeatable routine, disciplined risk management, and sizing each trade to the quality of the setup.

From Starbucks Barista to Full-Time Trader

About ten years ago, Alex was working as a Starbucks barista, earning around $150 a week. He decided he wanted to get rich and looked into the two paths he could afford to start with: real estate and the stock market. He chose the stock market because he could open an account with only a few hundred dollars. He lost money in his first year, discovered short selling in his second year and break even, and became profitable in his third. 

An early turning point was selling the rims off his car for $2,000 to fund one last attempt, which pushed him to treat trading like a real business. That discipline has since produced major single-day wins, including around $700,000 on AMC and about $400,000 on DJT, along with a documented run from a $35,000 account to $1 million in roughly 55 days.

How Alex Trades

Alex is a short seller who focuses on small-cap stocks, the low-priced, volatile names that often spike on hype and then give those gains back. He is best known for short-biased trading in overextended runners, with his signature setups including:

• Pump-style moves that have run too far, too fast
• Multi-day runners losing momentum
• First Red Day setups, where a stock posts its first down day after a strong run
• Failing, overhyped companies with weak fundamentals

His method is simple and consistent. He shorts at resistance, covers at support, and uses VWAP to judge whether a stock is strong or weak. He does not risk the same amount on every trade, he grades his setups and only sizes up on his highest-probability ones. His daily process comes down to a few core principles:

• Trade only high-quality setups
• Wait for crowded momentum to exhaust instead of fighting strength early
• Define risk cleanly before entering
• Avoid emotional entries and emotional sizing
• Review every trade honestly to separate good decisions from lucky outcomes

Each morning he reviews the top percentage gainers, the news, the daily chart, and company filings to narrow the list to one or two stocks, trades mainly between 9:30 and 10:30, then stops, because his own data shows he performs best in that window.

What He Learned on the Desk

Alex also trained at the prop firm SMB Capital, where he sat next to the firm's top earner and was coached by trading psychologist Dr. Brett Steenbarger. 

The lessons shaped how he trades today: set a hard maximum daily loss, take profits out regularly, focus on consistency instead of chasing missed trades, and plan every trade's entry, exit, stop, and target in advance. He also stresses that the market is always changing, so traders have to keep adapting rather than relying on what worked last year.

Learn From Alex Temiz on Chart Academy

Alex recorded a full masterclass for Chart Academy on his short-selling approach, how to find and grade weak small-cap stocks, trade First Red Day and failed-momentum setups, read resistance, support, and VWAP, and apply the risk management and routine that keep a trader consistent. 

The masterclass is launching soon on Chart Academy. Join the waitlist to get access as soon as it goes live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Alex Temiz?

Alex Temiz is a full-time day trader, short seller, and co-founder of My Investing Club, with over $16 million in trading profits. He is best known for short selling small-cap stocks.

What markets does Alex Temiz trade?

Alex Temiz trades US stocks, primarily small-cap names on the short side. On larger stocks that have options, he also uses put options to add leverage to the same setups.

What is Alex Temiz's trading strategy?

Alex Temiz's strategy is short selling small-cap stocks. He shorts weak, overhyped names at resistance and covers at support, using VWAP to read direction, his First Red Day setup to time failing momentum, and dynamic sizing so he only goes big on his highest-probability trades.

What is Chart Academy?

Chart Academy is a free, all-in-one trading education platform designed to help traders learn real, practical skills from world-class traders. It offers in-depth masterclasses taught by real traders across stocks, options, futures, forex, crypto, and trading psychology. In addition to educational content, Chart Academy includes personalized learning paths, downloadable resources, and access to exclusive tools and rewards, all in one place. There are no subscriptions, no paywalls, and no credit card required. The goal is to make high-quality trading education accessible, practical, and easy to follow for traders of all levels.