One Prop Trader a Day – Julien Zanguim Nguetsa: Sixty Blown Challenges and the Mindset That Changed Everything
Julien Zanguim Nguetsa
My name is Julien Zanguim Nguetsa. I am 29, based in Cameroon, and I trade Gold and the DAX. My journey to a payout ran through more than sixty blown challenges, and the thing that finally changed everything was not a new strategy – it was my mindset.
How many blown challenges is a breaking point? Julien Zanguim Nguetsa, a 29-year-old trader from Cameroon who trades gold and the DAX off key levels and EMAs, blew more than sixty prop firm challenges, got funded twice and lost both accounts, and only reached a payout on the third. In this interview, he explains the set and forget approach he runs on the 15 minute and 1 hour charts, the 74 dollar payout that bought his family dinner, and the stretch when the people around him treated him like a failure.
I started trading in January 2024 and got funded for the first time in April 2026 with FundedNext. The real turning point was a shift in mindset. I began treating trading as a psychological challenge rather than a money machine, and I realised my strategy was already good – what was missing was discipline in my system. The first thing I did with trading money was take my family out to dinner, paid for by a 74 dollar payout.
I blew over sixty prop firm challenges. I got funded twice and blew both accounts before reaching a payout – it was only on the third funded account that I finally secured one. What kept me going was belief in myself, and the awareness that my learning curve kept improving even when the accounts did not survive.
My most expensive lesson was getting a 10K funded account, passing the challenge, then letting overconfidence take over. I blew it in three days, and it hit me harder than any of the others. My lowest point came early, before I understood the psychological side – I blew five challenges in a single week with money that was not even mine. Even then, quitting never crossed my mind.
My style today is pure price action. I trade off key levels and EMAs, focused only on Gold and the DAX, during the New York or London sessions on the 15-minute and 1-hour timeframes. I open my charts at 7am, mark my key levels, and wait for price to reach them and give me confirmation before I enter. Once I am in, I set my orders and walk away. Set and forget.
My most recent trade was today. I entered too early, and price came back to retest the level violently before continuing in my direction. The fix is simple: be more patient and wait for the retest to complete before entering. I do not follow a fixed take-profit rule, because the market is erratic. Sometimes a trade runs all the way to my target; more often I close it once I am satisfied with the profit on the table.
The key to getting here has been my resilience. I made the decision to face the mirror and do whatever it takes to master my own nervous system, instead of making excuses. Trading has changed everything – I live comfortably now, and I can dream about anything. I will keep trading, no question, risking 0.5 percent per day and compounding it over time.
Verified funded – the receipts
About the writer – Julien Zanguim Nguetsa
Julien Zanguim Nguetsa is a 29-year-old price-action trader from Cameroon who trades Gold and the DAX, funded through FundedNext.
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