Vertical Legacy operates in the blog network multi-level marketing sector, appearing as an offshoot of Wealth Masters International (WMI). Kip Herriage and Karl Bessey founded Wealth Masters International in 2005. The Vertical Legacy company page claims a "natural extension of the vision that first began" with Herriage and Bessey's original venture.
Vertical Legacy’s listed leadership team includes eight individuals, each with ties to Wealth Masters. Kip Herriage is named as co-founder and CEO of Wealth Masters International, with Karl Bessey as co-founder and President. John Jackson served as Senior Vice-President of Leadership Development for WMI. Other team members include Per Gunnar Hoem, a top Norwegian Wealth Masters affiliate before WMI's ban in Norway, and affiliates Cathy Werking and Ryan Nelson. Speakers at past Wealth Masters events, Wayne Allyn Root and Peter Bileagus, also feature on the list.
Wealth Masters International launched during a boom in personal development MLM companies in the mid-2000s. Regulatory issues began in 2010 when the Norwegian Gaming Board declared WMI an illegal pyramid scheme. The company's situation declined afterward.
In 2011, WMI announced plans for an Initial Public Offering, which never materialized. WMI launched a subsidiary called "Pure" in 2012. The Pure website remains online, but the project appears abandoned, having gained no traction after its launch.
WMI faced two significant investigations in 2011. The SEC looked into possible securities violations, while the New Zealand Commerce Commission investigated pyramid scheme suspicions.
By 2013, Wealth Masters was largely defunct. The company itself described its state as "gutted" in a lawsuit filed against former consultants and ex-affiliates. Two of those ex-affiliates, Aaron and Sophia Rashkin, filed a countersuit against WMI, alleging it operated as a pyramid scheme.
WMI's business model required participants to pay up to $20,000 for token products and services. This payment granted them the right to earn commissions from newly recruited participants who made similar payments. Less than one-half of one percent of WMI's gross revenue came from legitimate retail sales. The outcomes of both the WMI lawsuit and the Rashkins' countersuit remain pending.