Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Discover why "everyone else is doing it" could cost you millions—and how to navigate the FTC’s aggressive stance on marketing compliance. In this highlight episode, Emma Rainville and Ryan Poteet of Gordon Reese break down dangerous misconceptions about marketing regulations, influencer disclosures, and subscription billing practices, highlighting hidden risks that marketers frequently overlook. S...

What is the real cost of indecision? This highlight episode breaks down risk, ops, and the rise of experiential buying. In this Special Ops highlight drop, Emma pulls the sharpest insights from two elite operators: Perry Belcher and Jason Fladlien. Together they dissect the collapse of recorded information, rising decision fatigue, and how AI, trust, and fulfillment are reshaping the sales and ops...

You can have the perfect strategy, but if you screw up the timing, or your ego gets in the way, you’ll blow the entire thing! In this highlights episode of Special Ops , Emma brings together some of the sharpest founder insights on liquidity, decision-making, and the dangerous mindset shifts that sabotage scale. From chasing an inflated valuation to deploying cash too early, this conversation unpa...

Limited-time offers. Income claims. Celebrity testimonials. What if everything your funnel is built on is legally shaky—and you don’t even know it? In this special highlights edition of Marketing on Trial , hosts Emma Rainville and Ryan Poteet compile the most impactful moments from recent episodes—bringing together the sharpest insights on deceptive marketing practices, legal blind spots, and the...

What happens when hard-won marketing wisdom meets the cold realities of legal fine print? These next few weeks were bringing you highlights from the best episodes of Special Ops. Today, Emma brings together two of her favorite minds— Kasim Aslam and Nick Verge —for a rapid-fire download of strategy, survival, and straight-up founder honesty. From Kasim’s battle-tested M&A experience (and how a...

From the creators of the Special Ops Podcast comes a brand-new spinoff series that marketers can’t afford to ignore. Marketing on Trial is where hard-hitting marketing strategies meet real legal accountability. Co-hosted by the wizard of ops herself, Emma Rainville and Ryan Poteet of Gordon Reese, this show pulls back the curtain on the marketing tactics that could get you sued—and how to fix them...

You’re probably leaving money on the table because of your pricing and you don’t even know it. There are significant psychological and strategic principles behind effective pricing and value stacking. In today’s episode of Special Ops, host Emma Rainville teams up with Richard and Saka to break down how setting the right price point and building compelling value stacks can transform your product,...

Can AI reshape regulatory enforcement in the supplement industry? Emma Rainville and Ryan Poteet of Gordon Reese dive deep into how automation tools may revolutionize how the FTC and FDA monitor marketing claims, labeling, and deceptive advertising.  They tackle the misconception that the current administration's stance will lead to deregulation, warning that every action today may have futur...

Is your marketing execution as strong as your strategy? In this episode of the Special Ops podcast, Emma Rainville pulls back the curtain on the unsung hero of her company's success—Saka, the Director of Marketing Operations. Broadcasting from a studio in London with her team, Emma delves into how marketing operations are the backbone of effective execution.  Saka, hailing from Mauritius, sha...

Are your direct response marketing tactics compliant with the FTC's latest standards? As the Federal Trade Commission tightens its grip on mainstream performance marketers, many strategies that have scaled brands to millions could soon be ruled as deceptive. In this hard-hitting episode of Marketing on Trial, Ryan Poteet of Gordon Reese and Emma dissect these changes, offering a no-holds-barred lo...

How do high-level business operations make critical decisions quickly and effectively? This week on the Special Ops podcast, Emma is joined by her ever-reliable Operations duo, Richard and Saka. They’ve gathered together in London for an in-depth discussion about decision-making in high-pressure scenarios. They share their personal processes for rapidly evaluating choices, weighing outcomes, and l...

Can your clever marketing copy land you in legal trouble? In today's episode, Emma Rainville and FTC compliance attorney Ryan Poteet explore the fine line between persuasive advertising and deceptive marketing.  Learn how one sentence in your copy could be the difference between scaling to seven figures and facing a multi million-dollar fine.  The discussion covers the FTC's definition o...

When launching funnels, we tend to obsess over what the customer sees. But what they don’t see is the background, where things break, lawsuits start, or revenue quietly disappears. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Richard, Shockwave’s Chief Marketing Officer and the guy who double-checks every switch behind every campaign before it goes live. We’ll unpack the overlooked world of funnel infra...

Is your influencer marketing compliant with FTC regulations? In this tactical episode, Emma Rainville and Ryan Poteet of Gordon Reese dissect the critical compliance missteps that could be putting your brand at risk. Discover how to navigate the FTC's Trade Regulation Rule on consumer reviews, endorsements, and testimonials, while integrating effective strategies to ensure your influencer partners...

In this special episode of Special Ops, Emma sits down with Richard and Saka in London to discuss the operational strategies that have propelled Shockwave's international success. They delve into the intricacies of team building, communication, and the importance of purposely slowing down to speed up and avoid costly mistakes. How deliberate can operational planning be, coupled with understanding...

The Special Ops Podcast is launching a new spinoff show! Join host Emma Rainville opposite Ryan Poteet from Gordon Reese as they delve into FTC compliance for direct response marketers, online sellers, and e-commerce brands. Deceptive advertising has cost businesses over $5 billion in recent years, and many marketers don't even know they're at risk. In this debut episode of 'Marketing On Trial,' t...

If you’ve been following this 3-part arc with Yara, you know we’ve been hammering home the same critical idea from every angle: Ops and Marketing must align, or you bleed money. In today’s final conversation, we dive into the cultural and leadership side of the problem— including some painful lessons around toxic teams and the communication breakdowns that plague scaling businesses. This is the fi...

What if the real reason people say “no” to your offer has nothing to do with your product, but how you're presenting it? Nick Verge, copywriting and marketing psychology expert, is back, and today we’re unpacking why customers hesitate even when they need what you’re selling.  Nick walks us through the psychology of objections, showing how a “no” is often just a disguised “not yet.” We dive i...

Are your marketing and operations teams speaking different languages? If your marketing team is constantly over-promising while your operations team struggles to deliver, you may be facing a hidden problem that could cost your business big. The disconnect between these two departments creates inefficiency and quietly undermines your efforts to scale your business.  In this episode, Yara Golde...

Are you charging less than you’re worth? In today’s episode, I’m hosting Robin Waite, an author, business coach, and the founder of Fearless Business, to discuss the importance of pricing for your business success. Robin breaks down the mistakes most entrepreneurs make when setting prices and how those errors can significantly hurt their profitability.  You’ll learn how to avoid underpricing...

Are you pouring money and effort into marketing challenges that just aren't converting? Your challenge structure could be the real problem. I’m joined by Mikhail Kuznetsov, an expert in high-ticket offers and challenge marketing. He reveals the hidden operational mistakes that may be quietly sabotaging your sales.  Mikhail explains how to use strategic pre-challenge tactics and precise commun...

Are your teams just getting by or thriving under true leadership? Today, I sit down with leadership expert Andy Neillie to discuss why leadership always trumps management. Andy, who has spent years working with teams around the world, shares invaluable insights on transforming managers into high-performing leaders.  We explore different leadership styles, discuss the importance of being kind...

Are you struggling with low conversions despite having a great product? Your messaging—not your offer—could be the real problem. In today’s episode, marketing psychology expert Nick Verge reveals the hidden psychological mistake that’s quietly costing you sales and how fixing it could double your revenue overnight. Nick breaks down how top brands use deep psychological triggers to connect with cus...

Hiring the right people isn’t just about finding someone smart or a great team player. It’s about putting the right person in the right role. Too many businesses make the critical mistake of mixing creatives and operators, expecting them to thrive without a proper structure. That often leads to chaos. So today, I sit down with messaging and leadership expert Yara Golden to unpack why marketing and...

Too many entrepreneurs start a business for freedom, only to find themselves stuck in endless work, unable to step away without everything falling apart. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. I sit down with James P. Friel, business consultant and CEO of FG Ventures, to break down how to build self-managed teams. James shares the exact Business Freedom Formula that transformed his care...