323 · Alex Temiz - Starbucks Barista to 8-figure Short Selling Strategy

Chat With Traders

Kevin Avery

Investing, Education, Business

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Alex Temiz turned a $2,000 account into over $16 million in trading profits, starting from nothing as a part-time Starbucks barista. In this episode, he breaks down the real journey: the years of losing, how he transitioned from long breakouts to short selling, and the mechanical "guardrails" he used to survive long enough to succeed. After selling the rims off his car just to fund one last attempt at the markets, Alex discovered his edge in the volatility of momentum exhaustion. Today, his approach is built on extreme transparency and a deep respect for risk management, specifically through his "First Red Day" framework. In this conversation, Alex pulls back the curtain on his evolution from an aggressive gunslinger to a disciplined professional, sharing the psychological shifts and specific setups that allowed him to scale from four figures to eight figures. In this episode, we explore:· How Alex Turned $2,000 into $16M+ in Trading Profits· His transition from working as a Starbucks barista to full-time trading· The mechanics of the First Red Day strategy· Why he ignores his "average" to focus on adding to winning trades· Using broker-level guardrails to protect yourself from ego-driven losses· How Alex selects the stocks he shorts · His advice for traders struggling with the psychological pain of risk About Alex Temiz:Alex is a professional short-seller and the co-founder of My Investing Club (MIC). Known for his "First Red Day" setup and high-stakes momentum trading, Alex has documented over $16 million in verified profits. He is a vocal advocate for transparency in the trading industry, frequently sharing live trading recaps to help retail traders develop a process-driven approach to the markets. Links + Resources:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexTemizMICX (Twitter): https://x.com/AT09_TraderInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_temiz Sponsor of Chat With Traders Podcast:Trade The Pool: http://www.tradethepool.com Time Stamps: Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads.  00:00 How Alex Turned $2,000 into $16M+ Day Trading06:48 Working as a barista while trading10:08 Discovering Short Selling and finding his edge 15:13 Developing a healthy approach to trading20:31 When ego takes over a trade 25:18 Capitalizing on the once in a quarter A plus set up28:55 Becoming comfortable adding to your winner33:56 Why adding to losers is adding gasoline to a burning house37:12 Scaling out of size42:49 The mechanics of the First Red Day46:03 Still learning from other traders52:57 What winning looks like for you now56:06 Where can you find Alex Temiz  Trading Disclaimer:   Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What would your trading look like if capital wasn't the constraint? That's the reality for most traders.
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1:16.8	Offer expires May 31st, 2026.
1:19.6	Tasty Trade Incorporated is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA, NFA, and SIPC.
1:24.6	Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss.
1:27.4	Podcast episodes and other
1:28.5	content produced by chat with traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not
1:33.8	constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice. I think that all of the greatest
1:39.0	traders have to go through some sort of struggle because that struggle will teach you risk management.
1:44.4	That struggle will teach you how to be humble. That struggle will teach you how to grade your
	...

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