Shane Barker is the Founder and CEO of TraceFuse, the first Amazon-approved system for removing fraudulent negative reviews. With more than 25 years of marketing experience supporting Fortune 500 brands, Shane is a leading voice in digital influence and e-commerce integrity. His mission now: to protect honest Amazon sellers from fake reviews that destroy small business reputations—and give power back to real entrepreneurs.

On this episode we talk about:

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  The dark side of online reviews and how companies like Yelp and Amazon impact small business survival

  
  


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  Why TraceFuse became the first Amazon Terms of Service–compliant solution for negative review removal

  
  


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  The two-year grind it took to “crack the code” building TraceFuse from scratch

  
  


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  Lessons learned from earlier startup failures and how to decide whether to quit or double down

  
  


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  The danger of burnout, managing personal finances, and hiring a team that can keep you grounded

  
  


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  How mentorship can shortcut the expensive learning curve for new entrepreneurs

  
  

Top 3 Takeaways

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   Review manipulation crushes small businesses—but true innovation means fixing broken systems without breaking the rules.

   
   


2. 
   

   Entrepreneurs often mistake constant growth for success; real wealth comes from clarity, focus, and sustainable scaling.

   
   


3. 
   

   Mentorship is a shortcut to mastery—paying for expertise can save years of trial, error, and wasted money.

   
   

Notable Quotes

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  “Yelp is like the mob—they’ll tell you, ‘Pay us, or those reviews stay hidden.’”

  
  


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  “It took two years to figure out how to do it right, but now we’ve removed over 14,000 fake reviews.”

  
  


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  “If you’re going to bet on something, bet on yourself. But get someone who’s already done it to help you place that bet smarter.”

  
  

Connect with Shane Barker:

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  Website: ShaneBarker.com

  
  

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