CS Finalist @ Kent·Java & PHP·Founder, TradeWolk
Currently building TradeWolk — a native iOS trading journal for prop-firm traders. Lead product and architecture, implementing across the stack using AI development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex).
iOS trading journal & analytics for prop-firm traders.
TradeWolk gives prop-firm and retail traders a native iOS app for journaling trades, tracking accounts, and getting AI-powered coaching on their performance. Connects directly to MetaTrader 5 — no copy-paste, no manual entry, no spreadsheets.
Lead product, architecture, and go-to-market as solo founder; implement across the stack using AI development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex). The most interesting engineering decision — self-hosting the MT5 layer — is written up in the case study below.
Engineering decisions are made with cost and business reasoning attached — running the MT5 layer in-house cuts per-account infrastructure cost by ~90% vs. commercial alternatives, which is what makes a sustainable free-trial tier viable in the first place.
Architecture, economics, and what breaks in production.
TradeWolk needs to read MetaTrader 5 account data on behalf of its users. The obvious answer is MetaAPI — a managed cloud service that gets you to "shipped" in a weekend, billed per connected account per month. I built my own MT5 layer instead. It currently runs ~50 accounts on a single Windows VPS at a flat monthly cost.
The constraint that broke the MetaAPI path wasn't the absolute cost — it was the free-trial population. Without a free trial, conversion drops in the prop-firm trader market. With a free trial on MetaAPI, every signup carries a per-account cost from day one whether or not they convert. At any reasonable churn rate, you lose money on every uncommitted user.
So I went looking for a cheaper layer. There isn't one off-the-shelf. This post is the why, the how, and what's broken so far.
I'm a Computer Science finalist at the University of Kent, predicted First, finishing in 2026. Based in Aylesham, UK, and relocating to Romania later this year.
I came to building software through trying to build my own products. A mobile car detailing business. An email copywriting service for finance creators. Both bootstrapped, neither made meaningful money, both taught me more about constraints than any course. I started TradeWolk in March 2026 — two years of trading prop-firm accounts had given me a clear view of what was missing from the tooling — and discovered that shipping production software solo, end-to-end, was the work I'd been looking for. I've funded the degree and TradeWolk's early infrastructure by driving a taxi in Deal, UK in parallel with full-time study.
I work AI-natively — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex — not as a gimmick, as the core of how I actually move. Open to backend / full-stack engineering internships and graduate roles. UK / EU / Remote.
Multi-role taxi dispatch platform — customer booking, controller dispatcher console, and in-cab driver flows on a single CodeIgniter 4 / MySQL stack. Team Leader & Backend Developer (team of 4); personally built backend, schema design, and the controller dispatcher console.
Also: earlier work in Minecraft plugins (Bukkit/Paper).
Open to backend / full-stack engineering internships and graduate roles. UK / EU / Remote.
I aim to reply within 24 hours.