Note: Two Granola captures exist for this meeting (8952f770 by Michael, 3bb287b7 by Blake Stewart). Both IDs are in frontmatter.
Date: 2026-09-23, 4:00 PM EDT Attendees: Michael Houck, Blake Stewart (AM), Blake Emal (writer, joined late by phone), Tatem (JOLT), Jenali Mehta (Mantis VC, partner), Steve O’Brien (Mantis VC, partner) Granola: https://notes.granola.ai/d/8952f770-b428-48b7-9de5-88477c5f126b
Note: Jeff Evans (jeff-evans) is the existing Megaphone client at Mantis. This meeting was an account expansion/renewal discussion with Jenali Mehta and Steve O’Brien (Mantis partners), NOT a Jeff Evans client call. Jeff Evans was NOT in known_participants. MEGA-1645 pipeline does NOT apply.
Summary
Expansion discussion with Mantis VC around growing the current Jeff Evans (Jeffrey) Megaphone engagement to cover Alex (another Mantis managing partner) and potentially the broader team. Rye Valley has worked with Steve and Jeffrey for approximately one year via Megaphone. Jeffrey’s renewal is due around October 22nd.
Scope discussed: full-service LinkedIn for Alex (ideation, writing, posting, AM), DM outreach via SalesNav for deal flow and founder sourcing, comment/engagement management, and JOLT (short-form video) for Alex on TikTok and Instagram. Tiered model: heavy focus on Alex and Jeffrey, lighter-touch support for the rest of the team. Comparable result cited: VC client from low 6 figures to 500K+ followers in 18 months.
Mantis context: currently overcommitted and pushing toward hard cap in their fundraise. September/October is peak decision-making season for them.
Decisions
No binding decisions made. Meeting was discovery and scoping. Next sync scheduled for October 9.
Action Items
- Michael: Send anonymized Megaphone case studies plus JOLT example (AI founder, 0 to $60K in a couple months) to Jenali
- Michael: Sync with Jenali on October 9th (Michael free except 1:30 PM ET; Jenali out of pocket from 5th)
- Jenali: Survey Mantis team on who wants content support
- Rye Valley team: Prepare 15-min team intro call format to present to broader Mantis team; opt-in from there
- Blake Stewart / Michael: Have structure agreed before Jeffrey’s October 22nd renewal
Notable Transcript Excerpts
“We’re in the middle of a pretty busy period here with where we’re raising our fund, and we’re like getting close to the finish line here. We’re overcommitted but trying to push towards our hard cap now, which is exciting.” (Jenali Mehta)
“Jeffrey’s renewal due ~October 22nd: target to have structure agreed before then.”
“Comparable result: took a VC client from low 6 figures to 500K+ followers in 18 months.” (Michael)
“Jenali’s priorities for LinkedIn expansion: deal flow sourcing from founders, connecting with industry leaders to support portfolio companies, LP targeting as fundraise continues.”
(Full transcript available in Granola: https://notes.granola.ai/d/8952f770-b428-48b7-9de5-88477c5f126b)