The first time I came across Felony on social media, I assumed it was the usual trading influencer playbook: highlight reel wins, vague setups, and a $500/month price tag for access to a Telegram channel nobody actually monitors. I've seen that movie enough times to be skeptical on sight.
So I dug in properly before forming an opinion. What I found was a trading education community that's been operating since 2023 on Whop, has racked up 810 reviews averaging 4.79 stars, and offers three genuinely distinct tiers. The short answer to the review question? Yes, FirstStepTrading is worth a serious look, especially for newer traders who've been burned by communities that throw alerts at you without ever explaining why.
Let me break down exactly what you're getting, what it costs, and who's going to get the most out of it.
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What Felony Actually Brings to the Table
The founder behind this operation goes by Felony (username: felonytrades), and the backstory matters more than the name. He's described as a self-made 7-figure trader, and from what's publicly available, he's been at this since at least 2021. Multiple reviews from unverified buyers (meaning people who knew him before joining the paid community) specifically mention following him back to his "honeydrip days," which suggests a trajectory of building an audience through documented performance before monetizing.
That's a meaningful distinction. A lot of trading educators appear fully formed with no public track record. Felony appears to have earned his following through years of transparent live trading before packaging it into a structured product.
He also runs the community with what several verified buyers describe as near-constant engagement, responding "nearly 24/7." One review also shouts out a collaborator named Hannah, described as a co-leader who brings her own expertise to the live sessions. So this isn't a solo show where the mentor is only present when it's convenient.
His social presence spans Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, which means there's a lot of free content to vet before committing to anything paid. Honestly, that's the first thing I'd do: spend an afternoon watching his YouTube or Twitch content before pulling out a credit card.
Three Tiers, Three Very Different Commitments
This is where FirstStepTrading gets interesting, because the product structure is smarter than most trading communities I've seen.
FST ? The Hangout is completely free. It currently has 2,164 members and includes a daily watchlist, free live trading on Fridays, and an inside look at how the paid community operates. Think of it as a genuinely functional free trial, not a teaser that withholds everything useful. The fact that it already has 220 reviews (averaging 4.79 stars) on its own tells you people are finding value without spending a dollar. ?? Join The Hangout for free and see what the community actually looks like
#1 Live Trading WorldWide is the core subscription product. The pricing structure has an interesting wrinkle: the first month runs $50 USD and then renews at $100/month (prices as of when I checked). This introductory pricing is a smart way to lower the barrier for skeptical new members. What you get at this tier is substantial: daily live trading sessions, real-time day trade and swing alerts, weekly classes, giveaways, and access to an extensive video library. This tier alone has 550 reviews averaging 4.80 stars, with 481 of those being five-star ratings. That's an 87% five-star rate.
FelonyTrades Mentorship is the premium offering at a one-time price of $3,000 USD. In exchange, you get lifetime access to everything: live Zoom trading sessions five days a week, a pre-mentorship video package, lifetime Discord access, and what the product description calls "structured learning" covering options, equities, and futures. The mentorship is taught live by two traders (both described as having reached 6 and 7-figure profitability), and all sessions are recorded and available within an hour of ending. Lifetime access makes that price feel different, because you're not paying $3K/year, you're paying $3K once.
At $100/month, 30 months of the subscription equals the mentorship price. For someone who's serious about trading as a long-term career, the math can favor the mentorship pretty quickly.
What You Actually Get Day-to-Day
The experience list on Whop gives you a clear picture of how the community is organized. There's a lot here:
- Daily Watchlist delivered via forums each morning
- Day Trades and Futures channels for active alert delivery
- Charts Only chat for people who want setups without the noise
- High Risk channel (separated, which I appreciate, because not every setup belongs in the same feed)
- Long Term channel for swing and position trades
- FST ? Prop Challenge for members working through proprietary trading firm evaluations, a growing trend in retail trading
- Livestreaming integration
- Learning Center Courses and a Pre-Mentorship Video Library
- Gains section (essentially a wins/proof feed)
- GameTime on Discord
- Giveaways (these appear to be a recurring feature, not a one-off promotion)
- Announcements and an FAQ content section
The separation of trade types into distinct channels is something I'd specifically highlight for beginners. When you first start trading, one of the most disorienting things is trying to figure out which alerts are meant for a 10-minute scalp versus a multi-day swing. Having dedicated forums for day trades, futures, long-term setups, and high-risk plays means you can choose your lane and not accidentally hold a futures position overnight because you misread what channel the alert came from.
The Community Element Is Genuinely Different
One thing that keeps coming up across the reviews, in different words, is that this feels less like a subscription and more like a community you actually belong to. Multiple verified buyers specifically mention the morning Zoom prep, the responsiveness of the mentors, and the psychological side of trading being addressed, not just setups and entries.
A newer trader wrote: "The live sessions are fun which makes trading easier for me to be consistent with every morning." That sentence might sound minor, but consistency is the actual problem most retail traders have. It's not information. Everyone has information. It's showing up every day and executing without emotion. A community that makes that feel enjoyable is genuinely valuable.
The "learn and earn" motto also manifests in a specific way here: Felony apparently breaks down the reasoning behind every trade he takes in real time. That approach turns alerts from something you follow blindly into something you learn from. The difference between a signal service and a trading education is exactly that: one builds dependency, the other builds skill.
Check the public reviews tab on Whop to see what current and past members are saying in their own words. ?? Read verified member reviews on the FirstStepTrading page
What the Negative Reviews Reveal
There are 13 one-star reviews across the platform out of 810 total. That's a 1.6% dissatisfaction rate, which is genuinely low for any digital product. But it's worth being honest about what the criticism actually says.
The recurring theme in negative feedback centers on alerts not arriving in time to act on, and some members feeling like the trade setups in the live stream didn't translate cleanly to what they could execute in their own accounts. One reviewer mentioned Felony being in NQ (Nasdaq futures) while they didn't have a clear enough strike or stop-loss to follow along.
These are real friction points, not made-up complaints. But they're also pretty standard challenges in live trading communities. Live trading moves fast, and following someone who's trading futures or index options in real time requires you to have your platform set up and ready before the session, not during. If you're new and haven't done some of the pre-work (account setup, broker selection, understanding the instruments being traded), you'll feel behind.
This is where the pre-mentorship video library becomes important. It exists precisely to bridge that gap. If you're joining the subscription tier and feeling lost, reach out to Felony or Hannah directly in the community. Based on the reviews, the responsiveness there seems genuine.
Pricing Compared to the Market
For context, trading education products on Whop and similar platforms range from $30/month Discord signal rooms with no educational component to $10,000+ one-time mentorship programs. The $50 first month entry into FirstStepTrading's main product sits comfortably in the "try before you commit" range, and the $100/month renewal is squarely mid-market for what it includes.
The $3,000 mentorship, at a one-time price with lifetime access to live sessions five days a week, is actually on the lower end for what's described. Comparable structured mentorships from traders with documented track records often run $5,000 to $15,000, and many charge annually. Lifetime access changes the value calculus significantly.
At the time I checked, the Whop page showed a first-month discount built into the default plan ($50 vs $100 renewal). It's worth visiting the page directly to see if there's an additional welcome discount active, as Whop products often display a popup offer on first visit that isn't visible anywhere else. Those tend to be time-limited. ? See the current pricing and any active discounts on Whop
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Free entry point exists via The Hangout (2,164 members, zero cost)
- Introductory pricing at $50 makes the paid tier easy to test
- Transparent live trading with the reasoning explained, not just signals
- Massive review base (810 reviews, 4.79 average) with verifiable feedback
- Multiple trade types covered (day trades, futures, swing, long-term, high-risk, all separated)
- Prop challenge channel for members pursuing funded accounts
- Two experienced mentors running live sessions
- Lifetime access on the mentorship tier, recorded sessions available within an hour
- Community culture that multiple buyers specifically call out as warm and supportive
Cons:
- Alert timing can be a challenge in a fast-moving live session (real-time execution takes preparation)
- Learning curve for complete beginners if they skip the pre-mentorship materials
- $3,000 mentorship requires meaningful upfront commitment, even with lifetime access
- No explicit refund terms visible in the data I reviewed (worth asking directly before purchasing)
Who Gets the Most Out of FirstStepTrading
This community is genuinely built for beginners who are serious. Not casual observers. Not people who want to watch and paper-trade forever. The "learn and earn" framework assumes you're going to be placing real trades alongside the educational content, and that's where the value compounds fastest.
If you're someone who's been consuming free trading content for months but hasn't made the jump to a structured environment with actual accountability, this is the kind of community that changes that dynamic. The daily watchlist, morning prep sessions, and live Zoom calls five days a week create a routine that mirrors what professional trading actually looks like.
It also works for traders who have some experience but keep making the same psychological mistakes, over-trading, holding losers too long, chasing entries. The mentorship tier specifically calls out "psychological insights for consistent profitability," and the community structure itself provides natural accountability.
The Prop Challenge channel is worth singling out for anyone working toward getting funded by a firm like FTMO or similar. Having a dedicated space to discuss those specific evaluation rules and setups is a feature I haven't seen in many communities at this price point.
People who might find this less ideal: purely technical traders who want raw signals without community context, or experienced traders looking for ultra-specialized strategy development. This is a community, not a quant shop.
Final Verdict
FirstStepTrading has built something real. The 4.79-star average across 810 reviews isn't manufactured momentum, it's a sustained track record with a consistent criticism profile (timing issues, which are addressable) rather than systemic trust problems.
What makes it stand out is the combination of genuine accessibility (free tier, discounted first month, beginner-friendly FAQ, multiple channels for different experience levels) and real mentorship depth (live sessions five days a week, two traders teaching, recorded classes with lifetime access). Most communities offer one of those things. This offers both.
The free Hangout is where I'd start. Spend a week there, watch Free Trading Fridays, check the daily watchlist against your own analysis. If Felony's approach resonates with how you think about the market, the paid tier at $50 for the first month is a very reasonable next step.
JOIN FIRSTSTEPTRADING NOW and take the first step toward consistent profitability.
Quick note: trading, whether stocks, options, or futures, involves real financial risk. Nothing in this review is financial advice, past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and you should never put capital at risk that you can't afford to lose. Do your own research, understand the instruments you're trading, and size your positions appropriately.