Evolve

Your attorney and CPA handle the legal structures, tax strategies, and financial mechanics of your transition. They’re essential. Evolve does something different: we help you and your family get clear on what you actually want, build alignment among everyone involved, and create a roadmap that addresses the people-side issues that cause 60% of transitions to fail.

But we don’t stop at the people side. Your Guide also helps you explore structural options, tax and estate considerations, and financial trade-offs so you can see how all the pieces fit together. Think of us as the strategic quarterback for your transition. We help you see the full picture, weigh what you’ll gain and what you’ll give up, and make sure every advisor you work with is pulling in the same direction.

Perfect. Most of our clients aren’t ready to leave their business… they’re building toward something, not walking away from it. Evolve is designed for business owners who want to create optionality and clarity about what’s next, not force an exit timeline. Whether you’re planning to transition in 2 years, 10 years plus, or you’re still actively growing and want to build a roadmap that gives you choices, this program helps you plan for multiple possibilities while keeping your options open to navigate as life shifts and the business changes.

While you may absolutely start Evolve on your own, we’ve found the process is most powerful when your successor at some point participates with you. Transition planning isn’t just about what the owner wants, it’s about building alignment, clarifying expectations, and making sure everyone is moving in the same direction. When both owner and successor go through the program together, you build a shared roadmap, have the hard conversations in a facilitated environment, and avoid the “announcement vs. collaboration” trap that derails so many transitions. If your successor isn’t ready to participate or you don’t have a successor yet, we can work with you first and bring them in when the timing is right. (Elizabeth had her transition roadmap done for two years until she met Andrea!  Having a roadmap is valuable in helping you find the right person to be your successor and inviting them in.)

 Most families create their roadmap in the first six months, then spend the rest of the year implementing it with support. But every family is different, and we’re not going to abandon you because the calendar says 12 months. In 30 years, we’ve never left a family without a clear path forward. Your guide is with you until you have a roadmap forward.

Evolve is 100% virtual, no travel required, no multi-day retreats. We designed it this way so the work fits into your actual schedule, not the other way around. The focus is on bringing the participants together no matter where they are to make sure you keep momentum and don’t get stuck coordinating complex in person events.  You’ll have monthly 1:1 coaching sessions and bi-weekly Group Labs, all conducted virtually. This means you can participate from your office, your home, or wherever works for you, without disrupting your business or personal life. That being said, we love getting together in person, so we do offer in-person retreats for additional fees.

Evolve is designed for transitions involving 1- 3 participants and includes monthly 1:1 coaching sessions. Evolve+ supports families with up to 8 participants or those who want to move at a faster pace. It includes a minimum of two monthly coaching sessions and priority support, starting at $5,400 per month. If your family has more than 8 participants or particularly complex entity structures, let’s talk. We’ll design something that fits.

Yes. Family conflict doesn’t disqualify you—in fact, it’s often a sign that you need this kind of structured, facilitated process. Our job is to create a safe space for those difficult conversations, help everyone feel heard, and guide you toward alignment even when you’re starting from very different places. We’ve worked with families navigating everything from long-standing resentments to power struggles to fundamental disagreements about the future. The key is willingness to engage in the process, not perfect harmony.

Plan for about 4-6 hours per month: one 60-90 minute 1:1 coaching session, two 90-minute Group Labs, check in times with your Guide, plus time for any work you’re doing between sessions (like conversations with family, reviewing documents, or working through your roadmap). This isn’t a program that takes over your life—it’s designed to fit into your schedule while still giving you meaningful progress.

Absolutely. In fact, many of our clients come to us because they’ve already talked to attorneys, CPAs, or financial advisors but can’t move forward with the recommendations they received. Maybe something doesn’t feel right, maybe there’s resistance from family members, or maybe they realize they’re missing critical information about what they actually want. We work alongside your existing advisors to make sure the people-side clarity and the technical work stay connected. When everyone is pulling in the same direction, the whole process moves faster and costs less.

Your $2,700 monthly investment includes: monthly 1:1 coaching sessions with your dedicated coach, bi-weekly Group Labs led by Elizabeth Ledoux and Andrea Carpenter, access to our full suite of proprietary tools (including the Transition Compass, Objectives Matrix, Options Matrix, iMAP Assessment, and Transition Roadmap), ongoing support between sessions, and all the guidance you need to create and implement your roadmap. There are no hidden fees, no percentage-based compensation tied to your deal structure, and no surprise charges. It’s a flat monthly rate for the full 12 months.

We intentionally limit the number of clients we work with so we can give each family the attention and care they deserve. This isn’t a mass-market program—it’s a guided journey with dedicated coaching and small peer groups. When you work with us, you’re not just a number in a system. You have a dedicated coach who knows your story, and you’re part of a small community of business owners navigating similar transitions.

We work with family businesses and closely-held companies across all industries—from manufacturing and construction to professional services, hospitality, agriculture, and retail. What matters isn’t your industry, it’s that you’re facing the people-side challenges of transition: unclear expectations, family dynamics, successor readiness, timing questions, and relationship preservation. The tools and frameworks we use apply universally because many transition challenges are fundamentally human, not industry-specific. And the structural, tax, and estate dimensions we help families explore are governed by national standards (with some state-level nuances) so our work translates across geography as well as industry.

Evolve is designed to be 100% virtual — no travel required, no multi-day retreats. We’ve found that monthly and bi-weekly virtual sessions create a more consistent pace than occasional in-person intensives, and they fit into your actual schedule without disrupting your business or personal life. That said, we love getting together in person. We offer optional in-person retreat days and family meetings for families who want them, at additional cost.

You can absolutely start Evolve on your own. Many successors come to us first because they see the need before the founder does. We’ll help you clarify your own objectives and, when the timing is right, help you craft the right conversation to invite the founder in. Some of the most successful engagements we’ve had started with a successor who simply said: I want to do this intentionally. The founder often follows once they see there’s a structured, respectful process (not a demand).