Date: 2026-09-21, 3:38 PM EDT Granola: ade71dc0-596f-4ac5-b2b0-e2f22123d46b
Attendees
- Michael Houck (Rye Valley)
- Akhil Reddy (EOR/payroll founder)
Summary
Informal peer advisory call. Akhil sought advice on a dispute with a former customer (Oceans/Ian) who is threatening legal action after Akhil’s company declined to cover severance for an employee terminated the day after returning from maternity leave. Michael advised: get on the phone with Ian directly, let him vent, be empathetic, hold the line on not paying, and keep lawyers out of the dialogue as much as possible. Parallel drawn to the Launch House vs. House Fund naming dispute.
Akhil shared business update: EOR/payroll company nearly profitable, very sticky, no bad months, considering installing a trusted CEO and stepping back to generate $2-3M EBITDA before starting an AI company. Wants to spend at least 6 months fully focused on personal brand first.
Michael shared: JOLT doing 5.3B views, took a client from 0 to 45K followers and that client is now in acquisition talks with Anthropic as an AI marketing channel. Got engaged ~2 months ago, based in Charleston, scouting Houston and Dallas.
Ben (mutual contact) moved on to a full-time role; both parties had a good experience.
Decisions
None (advisory conversation, no RV business decisions made).
Action Items
- Akhil: Text Ian to propose a direct call, framed as saving both sides on legal fees.
- Akhil: Loop back with Michael once the Oceans situation resolves.
- Michael: Intro Akhil to Tatum (TikTok) when Akhil is ready to focus on personal brand.
Notable Excerpts
“The worst thing we did was listen to the lawyers and let the lawyers get involved. The more you can avoid that in these situations, the better.” (Michael, re: Launch House PR crisis)
“We’re basically profitable… I can get this business to like $2-3M EBITDA… why don’t I just do that, put in another CEO that I trust, and then go start an AI company.” (Akhil)
“We’ve done 5.3 billion views, dude. It’s crazy.” (Michael, on JOLT)
Full transcript available in Granola.