Status: PLANNED (not started). Owner: Michael. Created 2026-08-03 with Hermes.
End state
- One paid Workspace org: ryevalley.co, one seat per person.
- michael@houck.fyi stays separate (personal).
- foundingjourney.com, megaphonestudio.com, megaphone.network, houck.news, joltexclamationpoint.com: $0/mo, mail forwarded via ImprovMX to @ryevalley.co inboxes.
- Old addresses keep receiving; send-as via ImprovMX SMTP. Websites untouched (only MX/TXT edited, never A/CNAME).
- Zero deliverability gap: Google + ImprovMX both live during each cutover.
Phase 0: Inventory + forwarding map
- List every active user on each old org (Directory -> Users AND Groups; catch hello@, support@, aliases).
- Build map: old address -> firstname@ryevalley.co.
- Note third-party senders per domain (Beehiiv on foundingjourney.com, etc.) - their SPF/DKIM must survive Phase 3.
Phase 1: Create ryevalley.co seats (safe, anytime)
Admin console -> Directory -> Users -> Add user per person. Each logs in once.
Phase 2: Migrate old data BEFORE any deletion
- Preferred: ryevalley.co Admin -> Data Migration, source = old org, per user.
- Alt: Takeout or Gmail POP import per user.
- GATE: no old org gets deleted until its users data is migrated.
Phase 3: Per-domain cutover (one at a time)
Order: houck.news (pilot) -> joltexclamationpoint.com -> megaphone.network -> megaphonestudio.com -> foundingjourney.com (newsletter SPF complexity last).
- improvmx.com (free): add domain, add aliases from map, add catch-all.
- Squarespace DNS: delete Google MX; add mx1.improvmx.com (10), mx2.improvmx.com (20).
- SPF: edit the ONE existing TXT: swap include:_spf.google.com -> include:spf.improvmx.com, KEEP other includes (Beehiiv etc.). Never two SPF records.
- Leave A/CNAME/DKIM alone.
- Verify: ImprovMX green, external test emails to 2-3 old addresses (Hermes can DNS-check + test).
- Wait 24-48h both systems live, confirm no missing mail.
- Old org: Billing -> cancel subscription, then delete account. IRREVERSIBLE - only after gate + wait.
Phase 4: Send-as (optional per person)
ImprovMX SMTP creds -> Gmail Settings -> Accounts -> Send mail as (smtp.improvmx.com:587). Free tier fine for replies; bulk stays on Beehiiv.
Phase 5: Cleanup
- Confirm all 5 subscriptions cancelled/billing stopped.
- Optional: remove dead Google verification TXT + old DKIM selectors.
- Record final address map in brain (playbooks/ or decisions/).
Risks
- Only irreversible step: deleting an old org (gated).
- Most likely error: SPF (one record, merged includes).
- Safety net: catch-all per domain.
- ImprovMX free OK; $9/mo Premium covers all domains if wanted.
Known blockers/learnings
- Adding these domains as secondary domains in ryevalley.co FAILS while old orgs exist (“already been used as an alias or domain”). Not needed in this plan - ImprovMX handles forwarding at DNS layer, no domain claim required.
- No Google “transfer domain between accounts” tool exists.