HIGH-STAKES DUOS

Because your relationship shapes your entire organisation

Specialised psychotherapy for co-founders, family business co-owners, and executive duos.

The High-Stakes Duos We Help

Co-Founders

The duo whose relationship shapes the entire organisation.

Family Business Co-Owners

The duo safeguarding the legacy.

C-Suite Duos

The duos whose performance impacts the entire organisation.

Creative Leaders

The duos whose creative work shapes the organisation's brand.

Relationship conflict in any duo is sufficient to harm the entire team's performance.

Source; Team conflict dynamics (Humphrey et al., 2017)

High interpersonal conflict is a key reason that 67% of family businesses never make it to the second generation.

Source: Surprising reasons owners exit family businesses (Hoffman et al., 2020)

65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflict.

Source: The Founder's Dilemmas (Wasserman, 2012)

Common Challenges We Help High-Stakes Duos Overcome

Direction Split

You started fully aligned, but now your visions subtly clash. Decisions about strategy and execution have become slow and painful. Your team is losing confidence.

Spotlight Imbalance & Power Struggle

One of you naturally takes more spotlight, fuelling resentment. Debates are repeating endlessly over hiring, launches, or priorities. Opportunities are slipping away while you remain stuck.

Public Tension

Silent friction during board meetings, uncomfortable exchanges in front of staff, or passive-aggressive disagreements in key meetings. Your entire organisation feels it.

Paralysis Under Pressure

Decisions you once made quickly now spark friction and delay. Competitors or peers move faster as your partnership is mired in second-guessing and subtle rivalry.

Delayed Conversations

Busy schedules, constant travel, and daily pressures cause crucial conversations to be repeatedly postponed. By the time you talk openly, minor issues have become major conflicts.

Risk-Tolerance Mismatch

One pushes aggressively forward, embracing risk and opportunity; the other prioritises stability and caution. Daily friction is draining your energy and clouding your judgement.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

Trusted by co-founders, C-suite duos, and senior leadership teams

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As a co-founder navigating both business and personal dynamics with my business partner, I came into co-founder therapy 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

Co-Founder Therapy 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

Results You Can Expect

Repair Relational Strain

Directly address and resolve tensions impacting your partnership.

Transform Duo Dynamics

Embed new trust and communication patterns for effortless collaboration.

Make Better High-Stakes Decisions

Reach meaningful decisions based on shared values, even in stressful times.

Our Approach to High-Stakes Duos

Resolve partnership tension

We directly identify and resolve interpersonal friction and emotional triggers that impact your professional performance and partnership effectiveness.

Rebuild chemistry

We rebuild trust and strengthen interpersonal chemistry to grow collaboration and performance.

Embed new behaviours

We equip your duo with the emotional clarity and communication tools needed to maintain performance and unity during critical high-stakes moments.

What’s at stake

Tension between mission-critical duos shows up as owner concern, sponsor dropout, or shaky performance. A strong duo decides faster, performs smoother under pressure, and lifts valuation, ratings, or rankings.

Safe, Confidential, and Respectful

Boundaries First

We explore sensitive personal topics only to the degree you're comfortable. Your personal limits are fully respected at all times.

Strict Confidentiality

Your sessions and sensitive information remain strictly confidential, including from HR and legal. Our therapists fully adhere to the ethical standards of the Australian Counselling Assiociation (ACA) and the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).

Trauma-Informed

Our therapists are specially trained to safely navigate trauma or deeper emotional concerns, ensuring your experience remains highly supportive and safe throughout the process.

How We Help

SERVICE

High-Stakes Partnership Therapy

Specialist psychotherapy for high-stakes duos and high-stakes teams. Resolve conflict at the root, grow collaboration, and transform performance.

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