Main objective

Day 1 was not about trading. The goal was to understand what stock markets are, why they exist, how the infrastructure works, and to reduce the intimidation of the whole field. Focus: foundations, market structure, ecosystem, and terminology.

Topics covered

From Zerodha Varsity : Module 1:

• Why people invest
• How stock markets function
• Role of SEBI
• IPO basics
• Exchanges and trading systems
• General market ecosystem

Specifically: topics 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 9 from Module 1.

Concepts learned

Financial markets

Why markets exist; why companies issue shares; why people invest; basics of wealth growth and capital formation.

SEBI

Regulatory role; investor protection; market fairness; why regulation matters.

IPOs

Why companies go public; primary market basics; private → public ownership.

Exchanges

NSE and BSE basics; matching buyers and sellers; how participation is structured.

Trading systems

Early picture of how orders move through the ecosystem.

Major realizations

1. Before strategies or charts, understanding why markets exist matters.
2. The ecosystem is larger and more structured than I expected.
3. Trading feels less mysterious once exchanges, regulation, and structure are clear.

Emotional / psychological state

Start of day: intimidated, uncertain, overwhelmed by the scale of the field.

End of day: still confused about actual trading, but less intimidated, more structured, and more curious than fearful.

What I deliberately did not do

No technical indicators, options/futures, strategies, scalping, leverage, live trading, paper trading, or advanced chart analysis.

Deliverables

• Day 1 daily log and site structure (concepts section, daily log layout)
• Glossary started; workflow and archive setup
• Day 1 LinkedIn post published (learning in public)

Resource

Zerodha Varsity, Module 1. Internal TRADEDOC notes and site work.