Decision
Jacob will receive no additional payment for content he pre-batched for clients who have since dropped him or are being transitioned away. He wrote content ahead without being asked. Michael will message Jacob with a clean-break framing and confirm September 1 as the Draper handoff date. Jacob will be paid for Draper work completed in August.
Context
Jacob had been ghostwriting for Megaphone clients and batched content ahead for several accounts. As clients churned or transitioned (and Draper moving to Blake Emal on September 1), Jacob asked whether he would be paid for that pre-batched content. The content was not requested by the team and the clients had not approved it.
Options Considered
- Pay Jacob for pre-batched content to maintain goodwill. Rejected: he was not asked to batch ahead, and doing so was his own workflow choice.
- Pay only for provably-approved posts. Rejected as too complex to audit and still a policy that rewards unsolicited batching.
- Clean break with no additional payment. Selected.
Consequences
- Blake Emal takes over Draper accounts (Tim, Michelle, James, Max, DA) starting September 1.
- Blake Stewart to brief Blake Emal on Draper’s email-based weekly cadence before handoff.
- Michael messages Jacob by August 18. Tone: keep the bridge intact; this is a business policy, not a personal judgment.
- Draper University (early-stage arm) remains in back-and-forth; possible re-engagement in a few months when their next cohort is active.
Related meeting: [Weekly] Megaphone Sync