Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Emma Rainville & Mitch Barham
  • 4.6 (5)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Follow The Yellow Brick Road is the podcast for founders who want a clear path to turning clicks into customers. Hosted by Emma Rainville (Founder of Shockwave Solutions, Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (Founder of Barham Marketing, Wizard of Ads), this show breaks down what actually drives growth — from acquisition to conversion to operations. Emma brings the systems and execution behind businesses that run without the founder in the day-to-day. Mitch brings the ads and acquisition that turn attention into revenue. Together, they connect both sides — so your business doesn’t just get clicks, it converts. If you're serious about scaling your business — subscribe and follow the path.

  1. 1d ago

    The $100M Mistake: Scaling Ads Before Your Operations Can Take It

    Most businesses that go under don't run out of leads, money or sales. They scale themselves out of business. Emma Rainville, the Wizard of Ops, and Mitch Barham, the Wizard of Ads, take apart the sequence most founders skip before they try to 10X. Emma walks through what has to be in place before the ad spend goes up: merchant accounts you only ever run at 70%, a call center that can put 22 agents on your account by 9 AM the next morning, weekly numbers down to your break-even and your oh-shit spend limit, a split test plan that holds up when test cycles shrink from 12 days to three, and the week you lock the team down to build the agents for the next 20X. Then Mitch takes the ad side: why throwing more money at ads is one move, not a plan, how 10 hooks, 10 bodies and 10 CTAs turn into 1,000 videos, and why almost nobody has a plan for the customer they just paid to acquire. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 2:51 Merchant accounts and the 70% rule 7:00 The call center that can add 22 agents overnight 9:51 The weekly numbers: break-even, 12%, 24% and the oh-shit number 11:45 When split tests go from 12 days to three 15:34 Stress-test the team: build the agents before the 10X 17:31 Why most companies scale themselves out of business 18:37 Subscribe break 21:33 Paying to acquire a customer with no plan to bring them back 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer #scalingabusiness #onlinebusiness #paidads #metaads #operations #emailmarketing #aiagents

  2. 6d ago

    The Profit Formula: Scale Your Profit, Not Your Ads

    A healthy ROAS number does not mean you’re making money. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) on why scaling ads should never be the goal — and what to scale instead. Your 4x, 5x, 37x might not be profitable at all. Mitch walks through the actual math — margins, cost of goods, out-the-door costs, AOV, CPA — and what you can pay to acquire a customer without losing your shirt. Emma sets the profit goal first and works backwards to the ads, never the other way around. Plus the single KPI that runs every Chick-fil-A, and why whatever is already in your business is exactly what more traffic will multiply. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:21 – Everyone wants to scale ads 2:51 – Know your margins first 3:40 – The math: AOV, CPA, and what’s left 5:49 – Two ways to scale (pick one on purpose) 9:26 – Subscribe + comment break 10:02 – Whatever you focus on improves 11:00 – Set the profit goal, work backwards 11:28 – Revenue belongs to the company. Profit belongs to you. 11:51 – Chick-fil-A runs on one KPI 15:39 – Now the agents have KPIs too 15:58 – Your goal should never be to scale ads 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer

  3. Oct 15

    How to Decide 10x Faster (Your AI Should Tell You No)

    Intelligence isn’t what gets founders stuck. Decision velocity is. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) break down how to move through decisions fast when your brain has already jumped to the next thing — and the decision-maker agent that tells you no. How it works: you train it on your resources, you give it the outcome you want, and it comes back with options — here’s the path, here’s what it costs you, here’s what you get. You answer in yes or no instead of sitting through a fifteen-minute conversation about why nobody’s sure. And when you try to add seven new things before the last one shipped, it holds the line: pivots allowed, additions not until this is finished. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:45 – Why decisions are harder when you’re brilliant 3:11 – The decision-maker agent: options, resources, outcomes 4:09 – Subscribe + comment break 5:02 – Shiny object syndrome and who can actually handle it 6:09 – Why agents beat a human integrator at this 6:40 – “Bro, no” — when your AI pushes back 7:58 – The agent that won’t let you move on 8:23 – A pivot is different than an addition 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer

  4. Oct 6

    Adapt To AI or Die: Why What Worked Before Won't Work Now

    When someone tells Emma Rainville "back when I was making the most money," she hears something very different than what they meant. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) take apart the myth that if something worked once, it'll work again — and why some of the smartest marketers they know keep falling into it. Consumer behavior has flipped underneath everyone. Mitch thought Facebook was a fad and learned it the expensive way. Updates used to land every six months — now it's every other day. Plus Emma's contrarian rule for ad platforms, the morning routine that keeps her informed without the doomscroll, and why "that worked in 2012" is the most expensive sentence in marketing. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:24 – The myth, and the smart people who fall for it 2:04 – War Room vs. Driven: why the same playbook doesn't transfer 5:00 – "Back when I made the most money" 6:49 – Still running single keyword ad groups? 8:10 – Cutting out everything you can't control 8:40 – The daily brief that replaced the news 9:01 – Subscribe + comment break 11:42 – Six months, then three, then every other day 12:16 – When everyone zigs, go look the other way 13:16 – "You'll be obsolete in five years" (it was faster) 14:02 – Selling in ChatGPT without a website 15:53 – 1999 was great. Netscape isn't a thing. 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer 🔔 SUBSCRIBE + hit the bell so you never miss an episode. We read (and reply to) every single comment — drop a question below and we might cover it in an upcoming episode.

  5. Sep 29

    Build Your Moat: Why Two Identical Companies Sell for Wildly Different Multiples (Secret AI Asset)

    Prompts get copied. Tools become interchangeable. Your company's own intelligence is the only thing left that nobody can take. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) on why documented operating intelligence is about to be the difference between a 2-4x multiple and something closer to 10-15x. Two companies. Same revenue, same expenses, same documentation, same loyal staff. One has every decision, pivot, pricing change, and piece of tribal knowledge in a file a buyer can ask questions to. Emma walks through exactly what that does to risk — and to price. Plus the story of competitors who ripped her ads and funnel word for word and still couldn't make it work, and why an AI DNA is also the thing that protects your family if you're not there. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:22 – Your future moat is operating intelligence 1:43 – Everyone will have the strongest models 4:20 – Two identical companies, one big difference 6:17 – What multiple are you actually paying? 7:17 – Why the multiple jumps to 10-15x 7:33 – Subscribe + comment break 8:37 – They copied the ads and the funnel exactly 10:46 – The only thing that differentiates you 11:00 – Why buyers make founders stay for three years 12:07 – Building a moat for your family 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer

  6. Sep 22

    Why Your Best Employee Is Hiding Your Biggest Problem

    What got you here is usually the exact thing that breaks at the next level. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) on why scaling isn't doing more of what works — and the person on your team quietly hiding the fact that your systems can't handle the next level. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🚀 BUILD YOUR AI WORKFORCE LIVE Three live sessions with Emma and Mitch. You leave with two AI employees deployed inside your business: an Ops Intelligence Analyst and a Media Intelligence Analyst — roles that replace $170K–$240K a year in payroll, running on the AI subscription you already pay for. Learn more 👉 https://theaiworkforcelab.com/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Grit and duct tape will get you to a million. Past that it's a different game entirely. Mitch walks through going from $14K to $100K MRR in a year and rebuilding operations every two months to keep up. Emma explains the hero problem — the person who sacrifices everything to get it done, masks that you have no systems, and breaks on the way to the next level. Plus what each revenue jump actually feels like, all the way to a hundred million. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 2:58 – Untangling a mess someone else built 3:37 – Why your starting systems don't survive scale 4:11 – $14K to $100K MRR, rebuilt every two months 5:55 – Subscribe + comment break 6:31 – What each revenue jump actually feels like 7:01 – The hundred million dollar float 7:49 – The hero on your team is a problem 8:47 – A hero masks it until they can't 9:27 – Sticky notes nobody ever revisits 10:41 – Level up ops and marketing at every stage 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer

  7. Sep 15

    Why Your AI Agents Don't Know the Company They Work For

    Most AI agents are missing the company they work for. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) on why a task, a tool, and a prompt with some files attached is not an employee — and what has to be there before an agent can work without you. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🚀 BUILD YOUR AI WORKFORCE LIVE Three live sessions with Emma and Mitch. You leave with two AI employees deployed inside your business: an Ops Intelligence Analyst and a Media Intelligence Analyst — roles that replace $170K–$240K a year in payroll, running on the AI subscription you already pay for. Learn more 👉 https://theaiworkforcelab.com/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Company identity, decision rules, authority, quality standards, escalation logic, measurement. Miss those and you're stuck prompting forever. Include them and you get what Emma and Mitch run now — a daily newsletter that ships without them, split tests that promote themselves, ads analyzed and iterated on their own. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:31 – A task, a tool, a prompt — not an employee 2:53 – The great penny standoff (a tangent) 4:35 – Chaining agents so every output becomes the next input 6:19 – AI DNA plus structure equals not being the bottleneck 8:05 – "The SOPs are on my other computer" 8:36 – Here's a clipboard, good luck, bro 9:08 – Meet Veda and Arden 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer #aiagents #aidna #aiworkforce #businessoperations #agentchaining #aiautomation #scalingabusiness #onlinebusiness

  8. Sep 8

    Why No One Is Buying: It's Not Your Ads, It's Your Funnel

    Great ads pointed at a broken funnel will never make you money. Emma Rainville (the Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (the Wizard of Ads) run through what actually gets checked before a single dollar goes to a client's funnel — and the fixes most people never bother to look for. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🚀 BUILD YOUR AI WORKFORCE LIVE Three live sessions with Emma and Mitch. You leave with two AI employees deployed inside your business: an Ops Intelligence Analyst and a Media Intelligence Analyst — roles that replace $170K–$240K a year in payroll, running on the AI subscription you already pay for. Learn more 👉 https://theaiworkforcelab.com/ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Session recordings are the cheapest conversion lift available and almost nobody uses them — Emma has doubled conversion rates off ten videos. Then there's the design stuff people get wrong every time: twelve fonts, size-11 copy for an older audience, stock photos your customer can't see themselves in, and video elements wider than a phone screen. Plus the testing pass most people skip, and how Emma's agents now build the avatar, redesign the page, and rank what to split test next. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:14 – Your funnel failed the Tin Man test 1:46 – What gets checked before we run traffic 3:22 – Session recording tools (and the free one) 10:56 – Doubling a conversion rate off 10 recordings 11:55 – If you won't let them win or fail, don't hire them 15:32 – Subscribe + comment break 16:08 – If your funnel looks like an 8-year-old built it 16:58 – Twelve fonts, hot pink backgrounds, size-11 type 20:44 – The stock photo problem nobody catches 22:03 – Test on mobile. Then test on everything else. 25:04 – Hand it to someone outside your demographic 27:16 – Agents that build the avatar and rank your next test 🎁 FREE RESOURCES Grab all our guides, checklists, and growth tools in the Hidden Control Chamber: https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/hiddencontrolchamber 📬 AI COMMAND BRIEF Our free daily newsletter — written end to end by our agents. 👉 https://aicommandbrief.com/ Get in Touch with Emma Rainville YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@followtheybrpodcast Website: https://wizardofops.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emma_rainville512 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainvilleoperationsguru TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@emma_rainville512 Connect with Mitch Barham Mastermind: https://paidadsmastermind.com/ Website: https://barhammarketing.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beardprenuer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-barham TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beardprenuer 🔔 SUBSCRIBE + hit the bell so you never miss an episode. We read (and reply to) every single comment — drop a question below and we might cover it in an upcoming episode.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Follow The Yellow Brick Road is the podcast for founders who want a clear path to turning clicks into customers. Hosted by Emma Rainville (Founder of Shockwave Solutions, Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (Founder of Barham Marketing, Wizard of Ads), this show breaks down what actually drives growth — from acquisition to conversion to operations. Emma brings the systems and execution behind businesses that run without the founder in the day-to-day. Mitch brings the ads and acquisition that turn attention into revenue. Together, they connect both sides — so your business doesn’t just get clicks, it converts. If you're serious about scaling your business — subscribe and follow the path.

Information

  • Creator
    Emma Rainville & Mitch Barham
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    115
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Emma Rainville & Mitch Barham
  • Show Website
    Follow The Yellow Brick Road

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