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01 — Business MediationSt. Paul, MN · Virtual statewide + select nationwide
Business & Succession Mediation

Move the business forward — without blowing up the people in it.

We wear flannel. We cite research. We get results.

Co-founder splits, family handoffs, founder exits. On paper they're legal and financial. In the room, there's a business on the line and a relationship underneath it. We're the neutral who keeps everyone talking long enough to actually close.

Which situation is yours?
★★★★★ 4.9 stars across 250+ Google reviews
Ryan McLaughlin, founder and mediator
Ryan McLaughlinFounder & mediator

250+ reviews. 4.9 stars. Read them yourself.

Flat-fee

no hourly billing surprises

1–3

sessions for most matters

Confidential

protected under Minnesota law

Business Mediation Services

Which situation is yours?

Co-founders splitting up. A family handing down the company. An owner planning an exit. Each has its own page — what it costs, how it works, and what a realistic outcome looks like. If yours is more than one of these, start with the closest fit.

For startups & co-owners

Co-Founder Mediation

Buyouts, deadlock, a 50/50 that's stopped working. Equity on the table, IP that's blurry, roles that stopped making sense months ago. We structure the split — or the reset — so it ends in a signed agreement instead of a lawsuit.

Sounds like: "We want different things now." · "We can't agree on what it's worth."
See Co-Founder Mediation →
For family businesses

Family Business Mediation

Succession, buy-outs, sibling disputes, parent-child transitions. Who owns it, who runs it, and what "fair" means when one kid's in the business and two aren't — so both the company and the Thanksgiving table survive.

Sounds like: "Dad won't let go." · "Why does my brother get the same shares?"
See Family Business Mediation →
For owners planning an exit

Business Exit Mediation

The smartest time to call. Before anything's on fire, we get the owner, the spouse, the kids, and the partners rowing the same way — so when your exit planner and M&A advisor go to work, the people are already aligned.

Pairs with your exit planner / CEPA
See Business Exit Mediation →
The shift already underway

A $10 trillion handoff is happening. Most of it will get messy.

Baby boomers own roughly 2.3 million U.S. businesses, and about 10,000 of them turn 65 every day. Most have no written plan for the transition — and when it finally arrives, the math is rarely what breaks the deal. The people are.

$10T

in business value set to change hands this decade as boomers retire.

Exit Planning Institute / industry est.
~70%

of family businesses don't survive the handoff to the next generation.

Family-business succession research
~80%

of those failures trace to conflict and communication — not money.

Succession failure analyses
Why a mediator

Everyone in the room has a side. I don't.

The M&A advisor has a deal to close. The attorney and the CPA each represent someone. The financial planner is close to one principal. All essential — all, by design, on a side. The seat nobody fills is the impartial one: the person whose only job is keeping the humans from torching the transaction.

It's not character. It's chemistry.

When people dig in, their brains are doing exactly what brains do under threat — protecting them. Change the chemistry in the room, and people who couldn't agree on the coffee order start building the deal together.

Founder and successor in conversation at a workshop table
Meet your mediator

Yes, your mediator has tattoos.

And gauged ears, and Birkenstocks, and probably better hair than your last attorney. He's also earned 4.9 stars across 250+ Google reviews — the kind of track record you can go read for yourself. Turns out, in the hardest week of your professional life, people don't want a costume. They want someone who can hold the toughest conversation in the room steady and get everyone to yes.

What Ryan does isn't contract disputes or insurance claims. It's business conflict where the relationship — not just the transaction — is what broke down. Where the documents technically say one thing and everyone in the room knows that's not the whole story.

Juris Doctor (JD)Conflict neuroscienceMFAFacilitative · Restorative · Transformative
Why mediation — not litigation, not arbitration

Private, fast, and yours to decide.

01 — PRIVATE

Confidential by law

Minnesota Statutes §595.02 protects what's said in mediation. Nothing enters the public record.

02 — FAST

Weeks, not years

Contested litigation commonly runs 18–36 months. Most mediations resolve in one to three sessions.

03 — FLAT-FEE

A fraction of the cost

Contested business litigation is routinely estimated at six figures. Mediation is a flat fee, typically $3K–$8K total, shared between parties.

04 — YOURS

You control the outcome

In arbitration, a stranger decides. In mediation, you reach your own agreement. That's why it holds.

How it works

Simple, structured, flat-fee.

STEP 01

Free consult

We talk through what's actually happening. No charge, no obligation.

STEP 02

Scope & design

A flat-fee proposal: who's in the room, how many sessions, virtual or in person.

STEP 03

The sessions

Structured conversations that keep moving toward real decisions.

STEP 04

Written summary

A clear record of what you agreed — to take to your attorney and advisors.

For exit planners, M&A advisors, CPAs & attorneys

I don't compete with you. I keep your deal alive.

You built the plan. Then the founder's son stops returning calls, or two partners stop speaking, and the timeline slips. That's where I come in — the neutral you bring in to clear the human logjam so your work can close.

  • ✓ Protect the relationship — and your engagement
  • ✓ Keep stalled deals from dying on emotion
  • ✓ A neutral your client trusts to be fair
  • ✓ No legal, tax, valuation, or financial advice — that stays yours

4.9 stars across 250+ reviews — now for the business you built.

Real talk, evidence-based methods, zero stuffiness — whether it's a divorce or the company you spent thirty years on.

★★★★★ · Google Review

"I was a ball of nerves before our virtual mediation session. Ryan's calmness, casual approach, insights, observations, and cohesiveness throughout the session helped us get through alot of very difficult topics to the point of an agreement."

— David H.
★★★★★ · Google Review

"Ryan was incredibly thoughtful and took time to truly listen to both our perspectives. His approach made the entire process feel fair and constructive."

— Rose Ostenson
★★★★★ · Google Review

"Ryan was calm, clear, and professional. He made it easy for us to discuss then sort through our issues. He walked us through all of the necessary paperwork. I left our mediation session feeling heard and at ease."

— Jessica Hunter
Read the reviews
Good questions

The things people ask first.

Is this legal advice or therapy?

Neither. We provide mediation only — a neutral, structured space to reach decisions. Keep your attorney, CPA, and advisors; we work alongside them.

Do you replace my exit planner or lawyer?

Never. We're the neutral who keeps the people aligned so their work lands — the missing seat, not a substitute.

Virtual or in person?

Both. Virtual by default — it works and saves the drive — with in-person available for Minnesota matters when it helps.

What does it cost?

A flat fee, scoped to your matter at the free consultation. Most business matters land between $3K and $8K total — no hourly meter running while people find their words.

Is it confidential?

Yes. Mediation is a confidential, off-the-record space designed for candor — protected in Minnesota under Statutes §595.02.

We're not in Minnesota.

Virtual mediation works nationwide for many business matters. Mention it at the consult and we'll confirm fit.

The longer it sits, the more it costs — in dollars and in relationships.

Book a free, no-pressure 15-minute call. We'll tell you straight whether mediation is the right move.

Call (763) 316-8323
Call Which situation? →