Performance Academy
The Right People: What Really Builds Our Business
By Francois Oosthuizen ·
Ask most people what builds a business and they will point to strategy, or capital, or a clever product. After twenty-five years, I can tell you it is none of those. Instead, it is people. The right people. Indeed, everything we have ever built that lasted came from someone who cared more than their job description asked of them, and everything that nearly broke us traced back to the opposite. So this final part of my story is the most important one, because it is about them: the people we build with, the values we refuse to bend, and why the very things that make a great teammate here are the same things that make a great trader.
Four values shape who we are and who we look for. They are not words on a wall. In fact, they are the filter for everything.
We Hire the Right People, Not Just the Right CV
We stopped hiring for the CV a long time ago. Skills can be taught, but a desire to keep learning cannot. So we hire for what we call a teachable spirit: the hunger to grow, the humility to be corrected, and the honesty to admit what you do not yet know. Research backs this up. In a landmark study of more than 20,000 new hires, Leadership IQ found that 46 percent fail within eighteen months, and 89 percent of the time the cause is attitude, not a lack of skill, with coachability the single biggest factor. So the most talented person in the room is rarely the one who changes everything. Instead, the teachable one almost always is.
Unashamedly Ethical
We are unashamedly ethical, and I use that word on purpose. In an industry that has too often rewarded the opposite, we would rather lose a deal, a shortcut, or a quick rand than lose our integrity. Of course, the right people feel exactly the same. They do what is right when it is expensive, when it is inconvenient, and when nobody is watching. That is not a slogan. Instead, it is the only way to build something that lasts, and it is the reason our clients can trust what we teach them.
Brutally Honest, Even When It Is Hard
We believe in honesty, even when the conversation is difficult, and especially then. The easy thing is to avoid the hard truth, to let a problem slide, to tell someone what they want to hear. We do the opposite, because real respect means telling people the truth they need, with care. Crucially, the right people can give honest feedback and receive it without breaking. If you have read the first two parts of this story, on how the industry changed and on what nearly losing it all taught me, you will know that this honesty, aimed first at myself, is what carried us through our hardest years.
Be Yourself
And then, simply, be yourself. We do not want a building full of people performing a version of themselves they think we want. We want the real one: the quiet genius, the loud encourager, the one who asks the awkward question. As a result, authentic people do their best work, they trust each other faster, and they build a culture nobody wants to leave. So you do not have to shrink to fit in here. You have to show up as you are, and grow from there.
Why the Right People Make the Best Traders
Here is the part that ties everything together. Look again at those four things: teachable, ethical, honest, authentic. Those are not only the qualities of a great teammate. Indeed, they are the exact qualities of a disciplined trader. A trader who cannot be taught will not improve. One who cuts ethical corners will eventually blow up. One who cannot be honest with themselves will never fix a flawed plan. And one who tries to trade like someone else will never find an edge that fits them. So our culture is not separate from what we teach. It mirrors it, and the same trading psychology we develop in our traders is the psychology we hire for in our people.
Opportunity Runs Both Ways
Which brings me to opportunity. We are creating real opportunity here, more of it every year, and I never take that lightly. However, the best relationships, with our clients and with our team, run both ways. We give growth, an ethical home, honest leadership, and the freedom to be yourself. In return, we ask for a teachable spirit, honesty in the hard moments, and ownership of the results. That is not a demand. Rather, it is a partnership, and it is the most rewarding kind of work there is.
So if you are ethical when it costs you, honest when it is hard, teachable when you could coast, and yourself when it would be easier to pretend, then there may be a place for you in what we are building. Because in the end, strategy and capital and clever products come and go. The right people are what remain, and they are who we will keep building with, for the next twenty-five years and beyond.
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The Rewards Rebate Programme: Months 7 and 13
Ultimately, rewarding commitment is part of how we build, with our team and with our members. Stay the course, and the programme returns real value at two clear milestones.
REAL REWARDS
The Rewards Rebate Programme
“What you invest to learn becomes what you trade with.”
Month 7
A simulated $5,000 Prop Firm Evaluation activates, included with your membership. So your training meets its first real test.
Month 13
Your membership value returns to you as credit in a Simulated Funded Account, with a 50/50 split on the profits you generate.
Simulated environment throughout. Effective 1 June 2026 and subject to the Rewards Rebate Programme terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Smart Online Trader look for in its people?
We look for the right people, defined by four values: unashamedly ethical, brutally honest, teachable over merely skilled, and authentic enough to be themselves. Skills can be taught; these qualities are who you are.
Why hire for attitude over skill?
Research shows most new hires who fail do so because of attitude, not ability. A Leadership IQ study of over 20,000 new hires found 46 percent fail within eighteen months, and 89 percent of those failures come down to attitude, with coachability the biggest factor.
How do your company values relate to trading?
They mirror each other. Being teachable, ethical, honest, and authentic are the same qualities that make a disciplined trader. Our culture reflects exactly what we teach, which is why the right people tend to make good traders too.
Does Smart Online Trader offer career opportunities?
Yes, we are creating real opportunity as we grow, both in our Centurion office and with remote team members. We see employment as a two-way partnership: we invest in your growth, and we ask for a teachable, honest, accountable contribution in return.
Is Smart Online Trader a licensed Financial Services Provider?
No. Smart Online Trader and its employees are not licensed Financial Services Providers. We provide education only, not financial or investment advice, and we always encourage clients to consult an authorised FSP before making trading or investment decisions.
What is Smart Online Trader?
Smart Online Trader is a brand of Diversit-e Smart Trade College (Pty) Ltd, offering structured trading education, honest evaluation, simulated funding, and trading technology, built around the standards a modern, governed profession demands.
Where do I start?
Start by joining The Hub at no cost. You can explore the free resources, tools, and Trade Journal, and see the standard we hold ourselves to before deciding on anything further.
Francois Oosthuizen is the Founder of Smart Online Trader, a brand of Diversit-e Smart Trade College (Pty) Ltd. Smart Online Trader and its employees are not licensed Financial Services Providers (FSPs). This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Trading carries the risk of loss, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Always consult an authorised FSP before making any trading or investment decisions. See our full risk warning and disclaimer.
