David Morales’s first trading videos attracted just 100 or 200 views. He kept posting.
That decision became central to how he built his business. A Deriv partner since 2021 and a Platinum Partner at the time of his Partner Spotlight interview, the Latin American trader and educator has grown a community by sharing both his knowledge of the markets and his everyday life.
His journey has involved experimenting with paid advertising, rethinking his habits, and putting ideas from Deriv events into practice. Through each stage, one principle has stayed the same: keep showing up.
Quick summary: What can partners learn from David’s approach?
- Give each channel a purpose: David shares everyday life on his personal accounts and trading education through DGFX.
- Learn from experiments: When paid advertising did not attract the audience he wanted, he shifted his focus to organic content.
- Allow content time to work: In his experience, videos can continue bringing enquiries months after publication.
- Put learning into practice: A Deriv event inspired him to increase his content creation.
- Build a sustainable routine: He makes time for trading, education, content, and his community while maintaining a life beyond work.
From discovering synthetic indices to sharing his knowledge
Before becoming a trader, David worked as a waiter and washed cars. His introduction to synthetic indices came through friends, and their round-the-clock availability immediately caught his attention.
“I knew I had to learn how to trade that market and understand how it moved.”
The sharp price movements sparked his curiosity. As he explored further, he discovered more of Deriv’s offering and began developing the knowledge he would later share with others.
For David, education grew naturally from his experience as a trader. Learning gave him something to share, and the Deriv Partners Programme offered a way to develop that work into a business.
He also credits the support behind the partnership with helping him build his community.
“Having the broker and a team behind you makes a real difference to your community and the people in it.”
Connecting a personal brand with trading education
David already enjoyed creating social media content before he began building his trading business. He wanted to keep sharing his everyday life while developing his role as an educator.
His approach was to give those interests their own spaces.
On his personal accounts he shares vlogs and everyday experiences. Through DGFX, he focuses on trading education, including financial markets and synthetic indices.
The two sides reflect different parts of the same person. His personal content allows people to get to know him, while his educational channels give those interested in trading a place to learn.
“But I liked being able to stay true to myself while also being a trader, an educator, and run my business.”
For partners developing their own presence, his experience offers a practical starting point: identify what you enjoy sharing and give your audience a clear reason to follow each channel.
Why David shifted from paid advertising to organic content
David initially worked with a marketing agency, using paid ads and sales funnels to attract clients. The campaigns brought in a range of people, but some were not ready to commit to learning about trading or developing the business.
The results prompted him to change direction.
“I wouldn’t call it a failure, though. That experience taught me something.”
He stopped running ads and concentrated on organic content, posting more frequently about trading. Early viewing figures were modest, but he continued creating videos.
Over time, that work began attracting more interest. He describes people discovering him through videos recorded months earlier, long after the initial effort of making them.
“I think consistency is the key to attracting clients organically. That’s what worked for me: showing up every day and continuing to post videos.”
His experience highlights the value of evaluating content beyond its first few days online. A video with a small initial audience may still help people discover an educator later.
How a Deriv event became a turning point
David identifies a Deriv event as an important moment in his development as a partner.
Alongside the motivation of meeting people in person, he took away practical ideas about content creation and using AI to support that work. He returned determined to apply what he had learned.
“So I started creating more content based on that event.”
Looking back at the year that followed, he says his business grew more than it had during the previous two or three years.
For David, attending the event mattered because it led to action. The ideas became part of his approach to creating content and developing his presence.
Bringing his own community together
David later hosted a larger event of his own, sponsored by Deriv.
Although he had organised events before, the bigger audience made him nervous. He says the sponsorship support helped raise his brand’s profile, while the gathering gave attendees renewed motivation.
The event also produced material he could share afterwards and brought new students into his community.
“It helped strengthen my brand and gave me content I could share afterwards. It also brought in new students.”
His experience shows how an event can continue contributing after the day itself. The conversations happen in person, while the resulting content helps introduce the community to a wider audience.
The routine behind the consistency
Keeping up with trading, content creation, and community responsibilities requires structure. That routine developed partly through setbacks. After experiencing early success, he recognised that his habits needed to change.
“What I learned from the experience was that consistency and a daily routine are what make a real difference.”
He also came to appreciate the value of guidance. Reflecting on his own experience in Latin America, he describes how access to financial education can help someone begin understanding an unfamiliar field.
That perspective informs his work as an educator: remembering what it felt like to start without knowing how everything worked.
David’s insights for new Deriv partners
Asked what he would tell someone starting out, David returns to consistency.
He describes a daily choice between two “warriors”: one takes action, while the other keeps postponing the work. For him, progress comes from repeatedly choosing to act.
His advice is practical: continue creating, stay engaged with your audience, and give your work time to reach people.
“You give yourself those opportunities by putting in the work every day.”
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