
The Trader's Journey Stock Prodigy to 8-Figure Prop Trader with Max Ganik
Jan 24, 2026
52:23
In this episode of The Trader's Journey, Anthony sits down with Max Ganik, Senior Trader at SMB Capital, to discuss his path into professional stock trading.
Max was introduced to markets at an early age, started trading options as a teenager, and eventually chose prop trading over the traditional sales & trading route after graduating from the University of Michigan.
Max walks us through his first year on the desk in 2020, the wild momentum markets that shaped his early edge, and how he evolved from small-cap scalper to options-focused large-cap and idea trader. He breaks down his framework for grading his trades, overcoming drawdowns, how he thinks about risk tiers, and much more.
