Rod Yancy is an entrepreneur, host, and writer whose ventures span law, finance, music, technology, and live events.
What connects them is his belief that everyone has a unique journey to embrace, and his drive to help people live theirs fully.
After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2002 with a double major in philosophy and political science, Rod made adventure his top priority, traveling in search of new experiences and deeper meaning, trusting intuition over precedent, and writing about what he found along the way. He married his college sweetheart, Erin, in 2005, and together they have two sons, Thomas and Will.
“Take bold actions and embrace the unknown. Constantly seek new experiences, prioritize intuition and gut feelings over the need for a clear precedent.”
He earned a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2006 so he could build on his own terms, and he founded two app-based software companies in fantasy sports and photo sharing before turning to what became one of his life's major undertakings, Oath.
Founded in 2010 on the philosophy of memento mori, Oath grew out of Rod's belief that life is short and something to be fully present for, and estate planning became his way of helping people put their affairs in order so they could turn their attention to what matters most. Oath has since grown from Oklahoma into a nationwide firm with more than 100 employees in 35 markets, offering integrated estate and financial planning built around each client's life and everything they've worked for.
Rod approaches business as an artistic practice, following his interests and intuition to create from a place of deep meaning. That led him to Oath Music, a human-centric music company whose flagship project, Bootleg, preserves live shows so artists earn more and fans can relive their favorite concerts. It also led him to Oath Studio, a Bruce Goff-designed architectural gem in Tulsa that he restored as a personal creative studio and private space where creatives, leaders, and seekers gather and connect.
Rod has kept writing through all of it, and Living an Oath, his Substack and soon-to-launch podcast, is where he explores ideas in public, shares his musings, and talks with artists, builders, and thinkers about life and legacy.
His forthcoming book is about what happens when you start paying attention to intuition, to coincidence, and to the threads that keep showing up and lead to things you couldn't have planned.
Rod believes the biggest problems get solved when people with eclectic skills sit down together and break bread. At Oath Studio and in cities across the country he hosts dinners in the spirit of Ben Franklin's Junto, bringing together business, creative, and civic leaders to share ideas for building a better future.
In November 2027, those dinners scale into Oath Forum, a two-day, invite-only gathering in Tulsa with featured guest Robert Greene. Fewer than 250 entrepreneurs, artists, and civic leaders will spend it in talks and roundtables focused on imagining a sublime future.