CO-OWNERS & OWNER COUPLES

Because your relationship shapes your entire family business.

Advisors back your strategy. Employees back your brand. Only you two can back the relationship that holds the family business together.

Conflict between just one key pair can be enough
to harm the performance of the entire team.
Source: Team Conflict Dynamics (Humphrey et al., 2017)‍

Your co-founder challenges evolve as your business grows. Co-Founder Therapy adapts to every stage of your journey.

Pre-formation

Early-stage

Scale-up

Established

Key challenges we help co-owners and owner-couples overcome

Vision Drift

You may have started fully aligned, but over time your visions for the family business have quietly diverged. One of you is pushing for growth, the other for stability or exit. The family and staff feel confused, and the business loses momentum.

Decision Deadlock

Key decisions—hiring, investments, succession, or new ventures—constantly loop through the same arguments. Nothing moves forward, and the strain spills into family life and the wider leadership group.

Role Friction & Unequal Load

One of you is buried in day-to-day operations, while the other carries strategy, external relationships, or emotional labour in the family. Both feel undervalued and misunderstood leading to growing resentment.

Money & Equity Resentment

Conversations about salary, drawings, dividends, or equity feel loaded. Questions of fairness, contribution, and recognition quickly become personal. Tension around money starts to damage trust—both in the business and in the relationship.

Communication Breakdown

Conversations that were once easy now feel risky. Hard topics are avoided, emails or messages become passive-aggressive, and minor misunderstandings escalate. The real issues go underground and leak out in other ways.

Clashing Leadership Styles

One of you wants rapid decisions; the other prefers caution and consensus. One pushes hard; the other protects relationships. Instead of working as a strength, these differences become a source of constant criticism and frustration.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Trusted by founders, owners, and
senior leaders

View Full Testimonials

As a co-founder navigating both business and personal dynamics with my business partner, I came into relational psychotherapy unsure of what to expect. What I found was clarity, guidance, and a safe space to unpack the unspoken things that often sit between the lines. Tom helped us build a communication framework that has completely shifted the way we work together. I’m walking away from our sessions not only with practical tools, but with a renewed sense of connection with my business partner and direction for the business.

Simon Jarosz

Co-Founder & Creative Partner, Sydney

What I found particularly helpful was being able to talk through a few issues that had the potential to create real division between us if left unspoken. There were also some heavier experiences we’d both been carrying, including some trauma, that had started to colour how we approached things…Having the space to talk that through, unpack it, and make sense of it together made a huge difference.

Dr. Ceri Cashell

Co-Founder, Sydney

Relational psychotherapy was very enlightening for me as a co-founder and CEO. Throughout our two therapy sessions, Tom quickly helped both of us identify tension points and work through them with compassion..With his guidance, we were able to agree on behaviours that will move us closer to our company's goals - with greater understanding of each other. I left the experience feeling lighter, more aligned, and excited to continue my journey as a Co-Founder.

Anthony Gerresheim

Co-Founder & CEO, Melbourne

Working through co-founder therapy has been genuinely transformative for our partnership. From the very beginning, Tom created a safe, non-judgemental space where both of us felt comfortable speaking openly — even about the things we usually find hard to say out loud…Because of our sessions with Tom, we now have a much more honest and transparent relationship, and we’re better equipped to navigate the challenges of building a business together.

Millie Twort

Co-Owner & Managing Partner, Sydney

As a Co-Founder and COO, I found co-founder therapy very helpful. It helped me be more open about my feelings, improve my communication with my co-founder, and equipped me with values-based behaviours I can continue to use to grow both personally and professionally. It was a safe space to reflect, reset, and build healthier co-founder dynamics with my business partner.

Lathan Sutrave

Co-Founder & COO, Melbourne

everpath has been a really valuable experience for us as co-founders…We’re not particularly confrontational people, so it was reassuring to have someone help us unpack and understand the moments of tension that naturally arise…I came away feeling more confident in our ability to navigate the emotional side of leadership, and really grateful for the space to reflect and reconnect as a team.

Dr. Emma Harvey

Co-Founder, Byron Bay

There’s something incredibly potent about co-founder dynamics and Tom demonstrated a unique gift for guiding our relationship with insight, structure, and deep care. Were the sessions easy? No. But very much warranted. The space Tom created helped us strengthen our ways of working together, and that continues to influence how we show up each day.

Gisella Montello-Bruce

Co-Founder & Strategy Director, Sunshine Coast

What sets Tom apart is his ability to truly see you and identify the real issues that are affecting your wellbeing, regardless of how you present or describe them. He possesses a rare understanding of the unique challenges faced by co-founders and the tensions that can exist between them. He consistently unpacked these issues in a way that offered fresh insights and solutions.

Nicholas Oddy

Co-Founder & Executive Coach, Melbourne

After just two individual therapy sessions, Tom helped me unpack how deep-rooted past experiences were quietly shaping my thinking and decision making. His thoughtful guidance enabled me to build a clearer sense of self-awareness, allowing me to identify my self-limiting patterns, understand their origins, and begin to break their hold on me…I feel far better equipped to navigate change and grow my new venture - on my own terms.

Julie Dormand

Employee Culture Consultant, Sydney

As a Psychotherapist with deep experience in business, Tom possesses an extraordinary gift. His unique background enables him to address the underlying behaviours and mindsets that drive or inhibit executive performance, as I have personally experienced…During our sessions he regularly helps me explore and address the root causes of my challenges, and test new behaviours that bring me closer to my best self.

Ingrid M.

Head of People & Culture, Sydney

The cost of co-founder conflict

Co-founder conflict shows up as missed targets, staff churn, and boardroom concern. A strong partnership accelerates execution, strengthens culture, and protects valuation. Choose the partnership that moves your business forward.

Our approach to co-owners and
owner-couples

Address the psychological roots

We use clinically-proven models from couples therapy, adapted specifically for family business relationships. Together, we explore the emotional triggers, stories, and patterns that sit underneath recurring conflict.

Rebuild emotional safety for both parties

Through structured, facilitated conversations, we help you express frustrations and needs without escalating into blame or shutdown. As emotional safety returns, difficult conversations can strengthen rather than damage your relationship.

Create change that lasts under pressure

We work with past patterns, present triggers, and future behaviours—so you don’t just understand what’s going wrong, you practise new ways of relating under pressure. The goal is change you can feel at home, in the office, and in the boardroom.

Results you can expect

Repair Conflict & Trauma

Resolve painful conflicts and long-standing hurts impacting your relationship, so trust has a chance to rebuild.

Transform Co-Owner Dynamics

Embed new patterns of communication, respect, and collaboration—so working together feels more predictable.

Make Decisions More Effectively

Reach meaningful decisions faster, guided by clearer roles, shared values, and a deeper understanding of each other.

Here's how we can help.

SERVICE

High-Stakes Partnership Therapy

Specialist psychotherapy for high-stakes duos and high-stakes teams. Resolve conflict at the root, rebuild trust, and transform the partnership.

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