@nickmerich3Hi, I'm Nick. Three music-tech exits, now building GRYT: AI-run ops for IRL communities and artist-led events
What I'm building
GRYT started as a Pittsburgh run club (15 to 35 people every Saturday) and is turning into an event-production company for founders, VCs, dev communities and musicians who want a real-world gathering but do not want to own routes, permits, waivers, sweepers, sponsors and follow-up. The ops run on software and agent workflows I built: the Saturday Crew app (RSVP, waivers, confirmed check-ins) and 40 open-source agent skills across run clubs, artist-led events and music-tech growth, all installable as Claude Code plugins.
Background: co-founded Songlink/Odesli (acquired by Linktree), led growth at Kits.AI (acquired by Splice) and Mint Songs (acquired by Napster). Also Founding Advisor and Head of Growth at AM I AUDIO.
What's working
- Confirmed check-ins instead of RSVPs. Counting only people who showed up made our attendance numbers and recaps honest.
- The newcomer ladder: a named buddy on the first run and a personal DM within 24 hours. The single highest-leverage thing we do for retention.
- Shipping playbooks as agent skills instead of a PDF. Organizers actually install and run them.
One thing I need
Intros to founders, VCs or community leads planning a conference, offsite or launch in the next six months who would want a produced morning run or 5K as part of it. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, DC and Cleveland first, open to others.
Happy to trade notes on creator partner programs, affiliate setups or run-club ops any time.
Comments3
Really impressive approach. What stands out to me is how you're combining AI-powered workflows with real-world community building. I particularly like the idea of turning operational playbooks into installable agent skills rather than static documentation.
I believe this is where AI agents can create significant value: handling repetitive operational tasks while allowing people to focus on relationships, creativity, and community engagement. I'm also interested in how you're structuring the 40 agent skills and integrating them into practical workflows. Great initiative!
The named-buddy-plus-24-hour-DM step is speed-to-lead applied to retention. Same principle: the first fast, personal touch is what sticks.
Welcome Nick! Confirmed check-ins instead of RSVPs is the same idea you mentioned about your log: count the second visit, not the nice reply. In lead gen it's the same, a conversation counts, a like doesn't. Curious which of the 40 skills gets used the most.
3 comments
Really impressive approach. What stands out to me is how you're combining AI-powered workflows with real-world community building. I particularly like the idea of turning operational playbooks into installable agent skills rather than static documentation.
I believe this is where AI agents can create significant value: handling repetitive operational tasks while allowing people to focus on relationships, creativity, and community engagement. I'm also interested in how you're structuring the 40 agent skills and integrating them into practical workflows. Great initiative!
The named-buddy-plus-24-hour-DM step is speed-to-lead applied to retention. Same principle: the first fast, personal touch is what sticks.
Welcome Nick! Confirmed check-ins instead of RSVPs is the same idea you mentioned about your log: count the second visit, not the nice reply. In lead gen it's the same, a conversation counts, a like doesn't. Curious which of the 40 skills gets used the most.