This week, we’re joined by Richie Mashiko - Head of Beacon at Iris Finance for a full breakdown of how BFCM played out across their businesses. Together, the group recaps what actually drove performance this year, from media-mix diversification and top-of-funnel investment to traffic dynamics, conversion-rate behavior, and how different brand sizes approached Cyber Five strategy.

From there, Richie walks through his forecasting philosophy - including how he builds bottoms-up financial models, how diminishing returns shape CAC and forecasting assumptions, and how finance and marketing need to stay aligned around realistic growth expectations. The group also dives into contribution margin, AMER, customer mix, and why so many brands forecast incorrectly when marketing isn’t part of the planning process.

They then unpack the levers that actually make an ecommerce business profitable: cohort behavior, scaling past category saturation, interpreting flat conversion rates alongside surging traffic, and what contribution dollars really tell you. Richie shares lessons learned from She’s Birdie’s rebuild year and how smaller brands can apply the same financial discipline as companies operating at nine-figure scale.

If you're trying to understand your BFCM results, build a forecast that reflects reality, or get finance and marketing speaking the same language, this episode is a must-listen.

If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:06:40 - BFCM recap

00:24:47 - Media Mix Strategy

00:41:52 - International Markets

00:53:44 - FP&A Background

01:07:05 - Building a Forecast

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Motion.⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/creative-trends

Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Haus.http://Haus.io/operators

Subscribe to the 9 Operators Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@Operators9

Subscribe to the Finance Operators Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@FinanceOperatorsFOPS

Sign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here: https://9operators.com/

In this episode of Marketing Operators, Cody and Connor break down how growth teams are rethinking measurement heading into 2026 - especially the rising importance of brand tracking. They discuss why click-based attribution alone no longer works, how incrementality and geo tests fill in the gaps, and why tracking awareness, consideration, and “future demand” is becoming essential.

Then they’re joined by Austin Santino, Client Development Manager at Tatari, and Jonathan McKenzie, Co-Founder of Turtlebox. Jonathan shares the brand’s unique origin story - four best friends building a rugged speaker for their sailboat before realizing it could become a business. Austin breaks down how Tatari has helped Turtlebox validate audiences and content through high-signal CTV testing and confidently expand into larger live-sports and linear placements. Jonathan also shares how Turtlebox is aiming to move from fast-cycling, performance-style creative toward more intentional, long-form storytelling as the brand matures.

This episode delivers the frameworks, tactics, and operator-level insights you need to sharpen your measurement strategy and scale your TV investment with confidence.

Tatari: https://www.tatari.tv/?utm_campaign=29640555-Operators%20Podcast%20Nov%20%2725&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=operators

If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:06:32 - Implementing Brand Tracking

00:20:45 - The Value of Earned Media Value (EMV)

00:35:26 - Turtlebox Audio: Origin Story and Product Differentiation

00:48:11 - TV Content Strategy

00:58:25 - 2026 Planning and The "Small Bets" Philosophy for Founders

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Motion.

https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/creative-trends

Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠

https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.

https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Rivo.

https://www.rivo.io/operators

Subscribe to the 9 Operators Podcast here:

https://www.youtube.com/@Operators9

Subscribe to the Finance Operators Podcast here:

https://www.youtube.com/@FinanceOperatorsFOPS

Sign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here:

https://9operators.com/

This week, the team breaks down how operators should be thinking about Q4 performance, offer strategy, and what it really takes to evolve beyond the traditional “discount + ads” playbook. We get into why some brands are rolling out first-ever sitewide promotions, how seasonal bundles create new revenue moments, and how text-to-buy flows, post-purchase upsells, and Shopify Collective can create seamless cross-brand merchandising opportunities heading into 2026.

From there, we dive into one of the smoothest customer experiences we’ve seen lately: Fellow’s text-to-buy setup. We unpack why it works so well for hardware brands with natural consumable add-ons, which categories this model is best suited for, and how operators can use complementary products to create repeat pathways without relying on subscriptions.

We then dive into media expansion, with the hosts discussing why there’s more opportunity than ever outside the traditional hero channels - from curated newsletter audiences to out-of-home paired with sampling and experiential moments, and the rise of street-interview content as a high-performing acquisition engine. There is so much overlooked media in the ecosystem right now, and operators who feel capped on their core platforms may be missing high-leverage arbitrage.

We wrap with a discussion on identifying under-the-radar media buys, evaluating whether niche placements are worth the squeeze, and how to build a more resilient acquisition and retention engine moving into next year. If you’re expanding your media mix, pushing for higher LTV, or rethinking your Q4 strategy, this episode is packed with operator-level insights.

If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:17:51 - Text-to-Buy and Complementary Brand Partnerships

00:35:40 - Testing Free Plus Shipping and Sample Funnels

00:46:02 - Out-of-Home and Street Interviews

00:58:11 - Balancing Arbitrage vs. Measurement

01:08:28 - Aligning Media Investment with Attention Trends

Powered by:

Motion.

⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/creative-trends

Prescient AI.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.prescientai.com/operators

Richpanel.⁠⁠⁠

https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdesc

Aftersell.

https://www.aftersell.com/operators

Rivo.

https://www.rivo.io/operators

Subscribe to the 9 Operators Podcast here:

https://www.youtube.com/@Operators9

Subscribe to the Finance Operators Podcast here:

https://www.youtube.com/@FinanceOperatorsFOPS

Sign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here:

https://9operators.com/