What Is Mike Michelini Up To Now: July 19 - 25, 2026

I am currently still on the road in Vietnam with my son Miles on a business trip.

Yes, I am getting him to work.

It has been really cool bringing my 12-year-old son along for an international business trip. I want to go to these business networking events, speak, host booths, and build new connections, but I also want to spend time with my family. My wife and daughter stayed home this time, and Miles raised his hand and opted in to join me.

So he has been shadowing me.

He is learning how I travel, how I organize my work day when I am on the road, how booth setup and event conversations happen, and how I try to keep moving even when the schedule is full. I love that he is getting to see business and entrepreneurship on the ground, not just as an idea.

At HorizonAI Expo, I spoke about using AI for business and shared the working OS I am building around HeadlessEmpire.com.

The goal is to make it one system that others can follow. I am wrapping it under Headless Empire as a framework, an operating system, a learning path, and eventually a network of people who are working in this new headless way.

There is so much noise right now around AI. Models, agents, workflows, automation, vibe coding, and everything else. For me, the question keeps coming back to this: can we turn it into a practical operating system for actually running and growing a business?

That is what I am trying to do with Headless Empire.

While in Vietnam, we have also been getting more interest in the upcoming eighth annual Cross Border Summit, happening November 3-5, 2026.

Even though we are in the middle of the slow summer season, I am feeling more interest and support than I remember having at this time of year. The team is working hard to "app-ify" the conference with software, bonuses, and better digital experiences for ecommerce sellers. Every year we try to push the boundaries of what the annual event can be.

On the ecommerce sourcing side, the Excalibur Brothers men's care expansion is still a work in progress. We are moving through supplier research, packaging, positioning, and the early foundations of the category.

There is also progress on other brands. Akitai has new jewelry coming through the pipeline, and overall we are working hard to streamline ecommerce product research and product launching.

With all these massive upgrades and restructuring happening inside the organization, it is honestly hard to keep up sometimes. But the team is using the new software we are making, and as we hit the halfway point of the year, we are continuing to improve our tech stack and workflows.

This Thursday night, we are also putting together an advanced ecommerce seller dinner in Chiang Mai. You can see the event at tickets.gfavip.com/events/64.

There are also discussions happening about more GFAVIP chapters in China and Bangkok.

So yes, another packed week.

Vietnam with Miles. HorizonAI Expo. Headless Empire as an AI business operating system. More Cross Border Summit momentum. Ecommerce product work. GFAVIP chapters. Advanced seller dinner.

Thanks as always for following along. Another week of hard work and grinding. See you next week.