News & Updates

New Publication: O Partner, Where Art Thou?

David Gage, Principal and Co-Founder of BMC Associates, is the author of “O Partner, Where Art Thou,” an article in the latest issue of Kogod Now, the highly regarded print and web-based publication of the Kogod School of Business at American University.  Gage, adjunct professor at the Kogod School, discusses the status (and relative paucity) of academic study of business partners’  collaboration as a key driver in the American economy.

BMC Associates Announces Addition of Stewart Christ as Principal

BMC Associates is pleased to announce that Mr. Stewart Christ has joined the firm as a Principal. In joining BMC, Mr. Christ adds significant strength to a team comprised of the current Principals and Co-Founders Dr. David Gage and Dr. Edward Kopf and an outstanding group of Associates, all mediators with expertise in a variety of related disciplines.

“We are very excited Stewart is joining the firm.

A Conversation on Business Partnerships in Startups

Event: A Conversation on Business Partnerships in Startups with David Gage
Hosted by: Affinity Lab, The Fort.vc, Social Tables, and CoFounders Lab
Event Date: March 7, 2012
Location: Washington, D.C.

David Gage spoke and took questions about building and maintaining business partnerships among startup founders. This was the perfect event for any founder planning to enter a new partnership or looking to improve the one they’re already in.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?: Brothers in Family Business

Posting by Ed Kopf, Ph.D., Principal at BMC Associates

Sibling-partners’ relationships are among the most challenging in family businesses. Such siblings are often second-generation co-owners of an inherited business. This means

• They may not have had a free choice as to who their partner would be.
• They may be 50/50 owners – a demanding arrangement under any circumstances.
• Finally, they have a lifetime of emotions and experiences to deal with in their relationship in addition to the demands on all business partners.

Drafting a Family Business Bill of Rights: Try Your Hand at It

Posting by:  Edward J. Kopf

Fairness and Pay in Family Business

Posting by David Gage, Ph.D., Principal at BMC Associates, and Ms. Liubov Sivokhina. A popular saying goes, “Treat your business like business and your family like family.” But what do you do when business is family? What’s fair then? It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that many conflicts in a family-owned business arise from a feeling of unfairness. Oftentimes that “unfair” feeling revolves around money.
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Keeping Cool: The Art of Family Negotiations (Part 2 of 2)

Posting by Ed Kopf, Ph.D., Principal at BMC Associates

Negotiating is critical to any relationship. As reviewed in Part 1, there are numerous factors that complicate family business negotiations. In this conclusion, strategies to combat the complications are reviewed.

The first step to avoiding potential negotiation conflicts is to be aware of the special challenges that may arise in important discussions about a family business.

BMC Launches New Website

Welcome to BMC Associates’ new website.  We have revised our web presence to enable visitors to more easily find:

• Information on BMC’s services, team and philosophy.
• Articles and case studies by BMC associates and others on subjects of interest to business partners and participants in family businesses.

We have also created a new BMC Blog. The blog will enable us to share news, short essays and other important information with our web visitors — as well as facilitating discussion between  our associates and our visitors.