About Us

Anyone can cook. Anyone can trade.

We borrowed that line from a cartoon rat, and we mean every word of it. In Ratatouille, the point is simple: skill and success aren't reserved for a special few. They can come from anyone willing to learn.

Trading is no different. But the financial world has spent decades convincing people of the opposite that investing is a private club meant only for people with finance degrees, fancy software, and a dictionary full of jargon.

Here is the truth: the market wasn't born confusing. It was made that way.

The industry uses jargon and noise to keep regular people feeling overwhelmed. If you feel like you can't understand it, you're more likely to sit out or pay someone else to handle your money. The confusion isn't an accident, it's how the industry profits.

When you strip all that noise away, it comes down to one clear lesson: price is just a scoreboard.

The price on your screen only tells you what already happened. What it doesn't show you is who was actually buying and selling behind the scenes, and where the big money was moving before the price changed.

That's why we built Stopped Out. We're here to teach you how to read institutional flow following the footprint of big money before the rest of the market catches on. It isn't magic, and it isn't a secret. It's a skill anyone can learn.

We built this place to give you the tools to see what the scoreboard is hiding.

Who We Are

Two Founders. One Mission.

John Searcy

Trading Systems & Brand Voice

Eight years building a rules-based trading system most retail traders never get access to. Nearly 100 curriculum units, written from the trade log up, not a textbook down.

8 yrs system development 3–4 pieces/week
Tina Searcy

Community & Access

In 2002, a bank told her to put a settlement into a CD instead of Starbucks stock. That $10,000 would be worth roughly $650,000 today. She co-founded Stopped Out so no one else has to learn that lesson the hard way.

Founder, Latinas in Tech SD 400+ members
This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. John Searcy / Black Stone Holdings LLC is not a registered investment advisor.

Our Mission

Demystify Markets.
Expand Access.

We break down complex institutional flows into plain language. We teach the systems that actually work. We open doors for people who have been deliberately kept out.

For Everyone

Retail traders, students, and everyday people. No prior knowledge required, no gatekeeping.

Built to Teach

Real systems, real trades, real transparency. Eight years of rules-based methodology, made teachable.

Built to Give Back

Pay-it-forward model. Higher membership tiers fund full curriculum access for another student.

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