From Prosperity to IMC Internship: Samrudh's Journey

Samrudh is a third-year Electrical Engineering student at IIT Delhi. Last year, he finished 7th in India and 36th globally in Prosperity — IMC's annual global trading challenge.

That finish inspired him to pursue a career in trading.

We spoke to Samrudh about how he discovered Prosperity, what the experience was like, and how it shaped his aspiration for a career in trading and an internship at IMC…

How it started

Samrudh first encountered Prosperity through a YouTube ad while exploring trading content. A few of his seniors had been placed at quant firms, and he was already curious about the space. He checked out the Prosperity website, watched some videos from past editions, and talked it over with friends. A week later, IMC hosted a Prosperity launch event at IIT Delhi, and that's when he and his team decided to go for it.

You don't need to prepare

One thing Samrudh wants every new player to know — you really don't need to prepare beforehand. His team started prepping after the launch event, but once the competition began, they realised it was designed to teach you as you go.

"The competition itself was designed over 15 days in a way that we could learn along the way," he says. "I'd just tell people to get into it. No prep needed — just have an open mind that whatever comes your way, you're ready to accept it."

What the 15 days actually looked like

With classes running during the day, Samrudh's team did most of their work at night. Out of the 15 days, they pulled about 10 to 11 all-nighters, fuelled by fries and chips from IIT Delhi's late-night canteen, Holistic. Sleep was around four hours a night, split in shifts — one person would rest while the other two kept working.

It was intense, but Samrudh remembers it fondly. When asked to sum up Prosperity in three words, he went with "great, adventurous, and a lot of memories."

The hardest part

The options trading round gave his team the most trouble. They had almost no knowledge of options and tried to trade them the same way they'd been trading equities.

But that was part of the learning. By the end of the competition, Samrudh had gone from being curious about trading to comfortably writing trading algorithms. "Whatever I have today in trading — I owe it all to Prosperity," he says.

"In those 15 days, I learned the most about what trading is and how to write algos," he adds.

Pick your team wisely

Samrudh has an interesting take on team selection. Rather than teaming up with your closest friends, he suggests finding people who are serious about putting in the work — even if you don't know them that well yet.

"Rather than choosing just your best friends who you'll hang around with and waste time, it's better if you select a team where you're not that close," he says.

His team came together by reaching out across hostels at IIT Delhi. They ended up becoming close friends through the competition itself.

How Prosperity changed his career path

Before Prosperity, Samrudh was interested in trading but was mainly doing software engineering—building websites and developing. The competition changed that. His Top-50 global ranking caught the attention of IMC recruiters during the ensuing campus season.

He went on to interview at IMC, which he cleared, landing himself an internship.

His message to students

"Even if you don't know trading, just get into it. At least you'll get a perspective of what trading is and how it can change your life. For me, it has changed everything — my entire career path."

Prosperity 4 starts on April 14. If you're even a little curious about trading, Samrudh's story is proof that showing up and giving it your all is enough to get started.

Registrations for Prosperity are now open. Sign up here: https://prosperity.imc.com/