What Simpler Trading does

Simpler Trading is a private, bootstrapped trading education and community platform founded in 1999 by John F. Carter and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company serves active retail traders in the United States with a portfolio of subscription-based live trading rooms, trade alert services, educational courses, proprietary technical indicators, and automated scanning tools. It claims a membership base of 10,000+ individuals and a team of 14+ professional traders with over 200 years of combined trading experience, organized into 10 distinct membership programs such as Mastering the Trade, Tr3ndy Trading, Options Income Mastery, Sector Secrets Mastery, Moxie Indicator Mastery, Compounding Growth Mastery, Voodoo Mastery, and Stock Snipers Mastery, each focused on a specific asset class, strategy, or trader persona (options income, ETFs, small caps, SPX/0DTE, supply-and-demand, momentum, etc.).

The company's underlying technology consists of proprietary trading indicators developed by named in-house traders and integrated with third-party charting platforms such as Thinkorswim and TradeStation. These include John Carter's Squeeze/Squeeze Pro/Squeeze Ultra, David Starr's Voodoo Lines and Ready, Aim, Fire! (R.A.F.), TG Watkins' Moxie Indicator, Jonathan McKeever's Tr3ndy Edge/Trendy Script Bundle, and Taylor Horton's Big 3 Market Scorecard, supported by an automated scanner tool that filters 550+ curated symbols across S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, FFTY, Growth 250, and Mag 7. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the company website, mobile apps on iOS and Android, and free top-of-funnel content including daily videos, four named newsletters, a blog, and a Trading Education Center. The company is not a licensed broker-dealer or investment adviser; it operates as an educational and community platform.

Simpler Trading monetizes through multiple recurring subscription tiers priced from $47/month (Radar Screen) up to $3,497/year (Tr3ndy Trading annual), one-time course purchases priced from $297 to $4,094, sales of proprietary indicators, and a low-friction $7/30-day trial funnel. The go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve trials), community-led acquisition (testimonials, chat-room referrals, social proof from member results), and a modest inside-sales layer for upgrades. The company has operated for 25+ years without external institutional funding, is privately held by founder John Carter, and has no disclosed parent, acquisition history, or M&A activity in the data.

Name

Simpler Trading

Legal name

Simpler Trading

Website

https://simplertrading.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Simpler Trading is a bootstrapped, Austin-based trading education platform founded in 1999 that serves 10,000+ US retail traders via subscription live trading rooms, trade alerts, courses, and proprietary technical indicators led by a 14-person team of professional traders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from live trading room memberships and trade alert services. Multiple tier structure with monthly, quarterly, and annual billing options. Core revenue driver with prices ranging from $147/month to $2,470+/year depending on service.
2. Online Courses: One-time purchase courses taught by professional traders covering specific strategies, indicators, and trading methodologies. Courses range from $297 to $4,094.
3. Proprietary Indicators: Sale of proprietary trading indicators and tool bundles for use on platforms like Thinkorswim and TradingView.
4. Scanner/Radar Screen Tools: Subscription-based access to scanner tools and radar screen functionality, priced at $47/month for Radar Screen or $147 for combined Scanner + Radar Screen.
5. Big 3 Market Scorecard: Monthly or annual subscription for access to automated trade-finder tool at $97/month or $970/year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Simpler Trading operates a membership-based trading education and community platform selling live trading room access, real-time trade alert services, on-demand and live educational courses, proprietary technical indicators, and automated stock scanning tools for individual retail traders in stocks, options, futures, and ETFs. Revenue is driven primarily by tiered monthly/quarterly/annual subscriptions to its ten branded membership programs (such as Mastering the Trade, Tr3ndy Trading, Options Income Mastery, Sector Secrets, Voodoo Mastery, and Moxie Indicator Mastery), supplemented by one-time course purchases, proprietary indicator sales, and scanner tool subscriptions.

Product overview

Simpler Trading is a membership-based trading education and community platform offering a portfolio of live trading rooms, trade alert services, educational courses, proprietary indicators, and automated scanning tools. The core offering consists of ten named membership programs (Mastering the Trade, Small Lot Trading Room, Stock Snipers Mastery, Tr3ndy Trading, Tr3ndy SPX Alerts, Options Income Mastery, Sector Secrets Mastery, Moxie Indicator Mastery, Compounding Growth Mastery, and Voodoo Mastery), each led by a specific trader or trading team and focused on distinct asset classes, strategies, or instruments (options income, ETFs, small caps, SPX/0DTE, supply and demand, etc.). Supporting the memberships are a course catalog organized by trader, a suite of proprietary technical indicators (Squeeze, Moxie, Voodoo Lines, R.A.F., etc.), automated scanner tools (Radar Screen and Simpler Scanner), the Big 3 Market Scorecard, and free content including daily videos, newsletters (Simpler Insights, Five Star Trader, Profit Pilot, Focused Trades), and a blog. The company operates primarily as an educational and community platform, not a licensed financial advisory or brokerage service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mastering the Trade Flagship live trading room membership offering real-time trade alerts, daily market videos, a weekly watchlist, premium newsletter (Simpler Insights), Simpler Showcase sessions, monthly trader calls, and mobile app access; members follow professional traders executing their own strategies in real time from market open to close.
• Small Lot Trading Room Live trading room co-led by Heather Vanek and Allison Ostrander that combines options trade alerts with trading psychology insights for small-account traders; delivers real-time alerts, daily live interactive sessions, Options 101 education, and a premium newsletter.
• Stock Snipers Mastery Trade alert service led by Mike Teeto focused on low-price penny stocks, micro-caps, and small caps targeting explosive moves within 48 hours; includes twice-daily live trading sessions, daily trade alerts, and daily market insight videos.
• Tr3ndy Trading Live trading room focused on supply and demand methodology, led by Jonathan McKeever and Melissa Beegle, featuring live trading sessions, API-powered real-time alerts, daily Q&A, and a monthly trader call combining trend-following, supply and demand charting, and Fibonacci measurements.
• Tr3ndy SPX Alerts Alerts-only service delivering real-time SPX trade alerts (including 0DTE) via API-based notification, plus access to a dedicated SPX chat room, learning center, and weekly neutral strategy video for traders who want SPX setups without actively watching the market.
• Options Income Mastery Live trading room led by Bruce Marshall focused on options income strategies; provides structured weekly alerts, pre-market game plans, live trading sessions three times per week, and regularly updated trade spreadsheets using spreads, calendars, diagonals, iron condors, and butterflies.
• Sector Secrets Mastery Trading room led by Raghee Horner focused on ETF options trading; includes daily live trading five days a week, scalping sessions with Lorna St. George, weekly tech sessions, monthly long-term growth sessions, and Raghee's premium Top Tier Outlook newsletter.
• Moxie Indicator Mastery Stock trading program led by TG Watkins using the proprietary Moxie Indicator; delivers real-time trade alerts, daily live trading sessions multiple times per week, daily market videos, and monthly Q&A focused on intraday and swing trades in stocks, ETFs, and options.
• Compounding Growth Mastery Live trading membership led by Taylor Horton focused on the Squeeze setup and compounding growth strategies; provides real-time trade alerts, multiple daily live trading sessions, weekly morning prep sessions, Saturday market prep, and daily videos covering trade psychology and setups.
• Voodoo Mastery Live trading room co-led by David Starr and Neil Yeager focused on the Voodoo Lines proprietary indicator system; provides daily live trading five days a week, real-time push alerts, monthly trader calls, and daily video updates covering market conditions and Voodoo Lines setups.
• Courses On-demand and live educational courses taught by Simpler Trading's team of traders covering options, futures, stocks, ETFs, and specific trading strategies and indicators; organized by trader (John Carter, Henry Gambell, Raghee Horner, Bruce Marshall, and others) with prices ranging from $297 to $4,094.
• Proprietary Indicators Collection of proprietary trading indicators developed over 20+ years, including Squeeze, Squeeze Ultra, Squeeze Pro, Moxie Indicator, Voodoo Lines, R.A.F., Trend Spark, Hot Zone, Earnings Hot Zone, Multi-10x, Monster Momo, and Quant Pivots, available for use on charting platforms such as Thinkorswim and TradingView.
• Scanner & Radar Screen Automated stock scanning tools comprising John Carter's Radar Screen (scanning 550+ curated symbols from S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, FFTY, Growth 250, Mag 7, and sector leaders) and the Simpler Scanner (custom scans based on proprietary indicators across multiple timeframes), including Squeeze Ultra scans, Monster Momo scans, R.A.F. Signal scans, and a Scanner newsletter.
• Big 3 Market Scorecard Automated trade-finding tool designed by Taylor Horton to identify the best Squeeze setups across any market or timeframe; provides real-time market condition read, sector strength rankings, A+ squeeze candidates, and guidance on whether to swing trade, day trade, or stay flat.
• Trading Education Center Free educational hub offering tutorials on trading strategies, indicators, trading platforms, and basics, including free courses on options trading and the Squeeze Foundation Course, along with blog posts and Simpler Insights newsletter content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mike Teeto grew $500 account into $425K in 7 years using Stock Snipers strategy
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Warrior Trading: Warrior Trading is a direct competitor offering subscription-based day trading education, live trading rooms, and trade alerts focused on small-cap and momentum stocks. It targets the same active retail trader segment with a similar PLG trial-to-membership funnel.
• Investors Underground: Investors Underground is a direct competitor in the stock/options day trading education space, offering live trading rooms, mentorship, and proprietary scanner tools. Its business model, target customer, and core offering closely mirror Simpler Trading's Mastering the Trade room.
• Bear Bull Traders: Bear Bull Traders is a direct competitor offering day trading courses, mentorship, and a community for active retail traders, founded by Andrew Aziz. Comparable in offering courses, live rooms, and scanners targeting U.S. retail day traders.
• NetPicks: NetPicks is a direct competitor providing futures and forex trading education, live trading rooms, and trade alerts. Comparable in subscription-based educational content and live mentorship model focused on active traders.
• Timothy Sykes (Profit.ly / PennyStocking): Timothy Sykes is a direct competitor in penny stock and small-cap trading education, offering mentorship programs, trade alerts, and educational courses. Targets the same small-cap trader segment that Simpler Trading addresses via its Stock Snipers Mastery product.

Emerging players

• TradingView: TradingView is a charting and social trading platform with a large retail trader user base. While primarily a platform, it increasingly hosts paid indicator ecosystems and trader-published content that competes with Simpler Trading's proprietary indicators and community.
• Benzinga: Benzinga is a financial media company that offers paid newswires, newsletters, and trading education, and has been a media partner/feature outlet for Simpler Trading. Overlap exists in financial news, education content, and retail-trader acquisition channels.
• Seeking Alpha: Seeking Alpha is a crowdsourced investment research platform offering premium subscriptions, analysis, and news for retail investors. Comparable as a subscription-based content destination for retail traders and investors, though it is broader in coverage than trading-specific education.
• Trade Ideas: Trade Ideas is an AI-powered stock scanning and trading platform serving retail and prop traders. Competes with Simpler Trading's Scanner/Radar Screen and Big 3 Market Scorecard in automated idea generation and scanning.

Broad incumbents

• Schwab (Thinkorswim / StreetSmart): Charles Schwab, via Thinkorswim, provides free educational content, paper trading, and built-in studies to retail traders. While not a paid education service, its free platform, embedded education, and integration with Simpler Trading's scanner outputs position it as a broad incumbent that defines the floor for free retail trading content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/simplertrading
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SimplerOptions
• Facebookfacebook.com/simplerofficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/simplertrading

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Simpler Trading