In this episode of The Trader's Journey, Anthony sits down with Dave Mabe – computer scientist, trader, and former CTO of Trade Ideas – to unpack how backtesting and automation can transform a "good idea" into a rules-based, data-backed trading system.

Dave shares his path from journaling trades and thinking like an engineer, to running formal backtests, stress-testing strategies, and eventually automating execution. Whether you're a discretionary trader curious about data, or already running systems and looking to avoid curve-fitting disasters, this episode gives you a blueprint for turning ideas into robust strategies.