30k Payouts in 2 Months - Jonas Betram

€25,000 lost before he understood what he was doing. Jonas started trading with warrants, leverage, and zero plan.

Today, he’s a funded trader at IQ Capital, closed his biggest trade with an 11:1 risk-reward ratio, and grew his personal account by 350% in three months.

We spoke with Jonas about his journey, what truly changed him, and why mindset isn’t just an empty phrase.

How did your trading journey begin?

“I started during my banking apprenticeship. Vocational school, a bit of YouTube, first experiences on Trade Republic. Shorting Nvidia, Coinbase — I had no idea what I was doing, but it worked.

The first two months went so well that I thought: this is easy. And then came November. And then January. In two months, I lost €25,000. Completely. Everything I had.”

What helped you get back on your feet?

“I was at rock bottom. My neighbor was active in the futures market. I went to him and said: I’ve lost so much — what should I do now?

He didn’t give me a pity speech. He recommended a mentorship. Two months later, I started again.

What really changed me was the mindset module at the beginning. At first, it didn’t sound like anything special — healthy eating, more exercise, no smoking, no alcohol. But I followed through. And then I read a book: Best Loser Wins. There was one sentence in it that I’ve never forgotten to this day:

“You don’t trade how you see the market — you trade how you are as a person. That was my turning point.”

And what was your path to IQ Capital like?

“I ran out of my own capital and then switched to prop firms. My first account took ten attempts. A full ten. And I even withdrew from it early without knowing that it counted toward the drawdown.

Then came a long losing streak. But five accounts later, I finally had my first real payout: $12,500 at The Trading Pit. After that, Matthias introduced me to IQ Capital. Two days later, I had my first accounts here — and since then, I’ve been trading exclusively with IQ Capital.”

What was your experience with IQ Capital like?

“What convinced me immediately:
No reset after payouts.”

“That might sound technical, but for me it was crucial. I had previously rejected firms where you get reset after a payout. That would have been too demotivating — building an account for months only to start from zero again.

Since then, I’ve withdrawn €7,500. And my 500k accounts at IQ Capital are developing well — the next payout is coming.”

What’s your trading style?

„Opening Range Breakouts. I wait for the market to accumulate during London, and then position myself for the US open. I look at the heatmap, identify liquidity, and then I simply take the right side.

My hit rate is low, but my risk-reward is high. My best trade so far was 40 points in the S&P, 11:1 — live while trading with Matthias. That one trade alone made my payout.

I mainly trade NASDAQ, because the S&P can sometimes be too slow for my style.”

What has changed in your risk management?

“I’m still refining it. Earlier, I used 0.5% risk per trade. Today I go in with 0.25% and only increase when the trade moves in my direction and I’ve reached at least 1:1.

My biggest issue is still the daily loss limit. I know when it’s enough, but sometimes I still don’t accept it. That’s my most honest weakness.”

What would you recommend to traders who are just starting out?

One final thought?

“Anyone can learn how a market works. Anyone can learn a strategy. That’s not the problem.

The problem is execution. 90% of traders lose money, not because they don’t have a good strategy, but because they can’t execute consistently on a mental level.

I paid to learn that. Whoever understands it earlier saves themselves a lot of tuition fees.”