Our Mission
At Topstep, our goal is to be where the world goes to safely engage in and profit from the financial markets.
In a nutshell, what we do at Topstep is break down the barriers to entry in what has historically been a very exclusive industry. Our mission is to provide a safe experience so futures and forex traders can professionalize their passion. We do this by funding any retail trader that passes our objective evaluation process, known as the Trading Combine®. So far, we have provided live capital to more than 4,000 traders in over 160 countries. Their wins are our wins, and we hope to continue opening market opportunities to anyone with the will to put in the work.
Our Story
The life of the modern-day trader is a far cry from the glorious pit trading days of the past. Gone are the days when a kid from the street could walk onto the trading floor and, with a few pencil scratches on a piece of paper, lift their family out of poverty and into high society.
The real day-to-day of a futures trader is a lot less glamorous than you may imagine. While the tall tales of legends like Jesse Livermore and Charlie D. still live on, the reality is you just don’t hear those great “rags to riches” stories anymore.
The game has changed, and it’s become a lot more dangerous. It’s truly a “David vs. Goliath” scenario. The average day trader may simply feel outmatched today. That’s where we come in…
Topstep was founded by Michael Patak, a former floor trader in the Dow Jones pit at the Chicago Board of Trade. After blowing out of a series of retail brokerage accounts, Michael decided that he needed to step back and take some time to really develop his strategy. He was given an opportunity with a Chicago proprietary trading firm where he spent 6 months being evaluated in a simulated trading environment. He credits this time as the secret to his future trading success.
Michael’s experience being evaluated helped him recognize an unmet market need, and that is what led him to start Topstep. He truly believes traders have a better chance of becoming successful if they are given time to test and improve their strategies, learn to manage risk, and gain confidence before ultimately trading live capital. This is exactly what Topstep has been doing since 2012.
Innovation Is At Our Core
At Topstep, we believe that innovation never sleeps. This is one of our core values. It’s literally written on the walls in our office to remind us each day of our mission to create a better experience for all traders.
Each week, employees set aside an hour purely for developing new ideas—nothing is too far-fetched. Every month, our entire firm blocks out four more hours to join together and bring these ideas to fruition. We call this our “innovation lab,” and its purpose is to drive future growth down the road.
Though the inception of Topstep was an industry innovation in itself, we also believe that innovation can go far beyond complex technologies—it can manifest itself in simple gestures that improve company culture and employee morale. For instance, our employees receive a $500 bonus if they choose to recharge by taking a full week vacation. And speaking of vacation, employees are eligible for TopstepTravel. The employees who win this perk receive a free week of exclusive lodging! Also innovative is taking the entire company offsite for two days of team building and rejuvenation to move the business forward.
As a company founded by traders for traders, we recognize the importance of having a solid foundation before actively risking real capital in the markets. Traders are truly at the center of our work, and we are constantly striving to find new and novel ways to improve every facet of our business.
