Wherever you are.
Whatever you need.
Out loud.
The events are where we say it out loud to a room. The Navigator is where we sit down with you — for one hour, or for as long as the journey takes.
Or $29/month · cancel any time
Six working tools — cost calculator, journey timeline, question builder, vetting checklist, benefits letter and glossary — plus the full resource library.
Join the PortalAlready a member? Open your portal →
$295 for members · 60 minutes
One hour with Mike on whatever you're facing right now. No package, no commitment, no expiry. Come back whenever the journey moves.
Book a SessionSix tools. Built by someone who has actually done this.
Not a PDF and not a blog. Working software you'll use across the whole journey — and it gets better every month.
Cost Calculator
Every line item of a real journey — agency fees, carrier compensation, the insurance line most people find out about too late — with researched low, likely and high ranges you can toggle to your own path.
Journey Timeline
What actually happens, in what order, and how long each stage really takes. Surrogacy, IVF, donation and fertility preservation each mapped end to end.
Question Builder
The questions to take into a consult with an agency, clinic, attorney, escrow company or donor agency — including the ones that are uncomfortable to ask and most worth asking.
Vetting Checklist
There is no licensing body for surrogacy agencies or escrow companies in most of the US. This is the diligence, red flags marked, ready to print and work through provider by provider.
Benefits Letter
Most employer fertility benefits are technically inclusive and practically unusable. This writes the ask — the letter that gets your coverage reconsidered.
Glossary
GC, PGT-A, escrow, U=U. Plain-language definitions for the vocabulary everyone assumes you already know, searchable as you go.
Resource Library
The Tiny Book of Family Building, panel recordings and templates. New material lands here first — members see everything before it goes anywhere else.
Three ways in. No wrong door.
Join the portal
Answer most of your own questions with the tools. No call needed, nothing to schedule, $249 for the year.
Book an hour
When you want a person, book one. Sixty minutes, a written summary after, and $100 off if you're a member.
Come back whenever
No package to finish. Some families come once. Some check in for two years. Session packs never expire.
When you want a person.
Every session is one hour with Mike — lived experience on one side of the desk and professional experience on the other. Bring anything.
No membership required. Members just pay less — sign in and your rate is applied automatically.
Navigator Session
The core of it. One hour on wherever you are right now — a decision you're stuck on, a quote that doesn't add up, a contract you don't understand, or just the reassurance that you're not doing this wrong.
- A 60-minute working session on your actual situation
- A written summary within three business days — what we covered, what to do next, and who to ask what
- Bring your calculator output and we'll pressure-test it together
- Come back whenever you need. No package, no commitment, no expiry.
Session Pack of Three
For families who know they'll want to check in more than once. Use them a week apart or a year apart — they don't expire, and you don't have to know your schedule in advance.
- Three 60-minute sessions, used whenever you want them
- Written summary after each one
- No expiry date — pick it back up whenever the journey moves
- Transferable to a partner or family member on request
In-Person Session
Private time with Mike, face to face, at a tour stop — or in the window before or after a webinar.
- Forty-five minutes one-on-one at the event
- A written follow-up within three business days
- Booked in advance with your ticket — slots are limited per city
- Members get first access when slots open
Members also get one free 15-minute intro call each year.
Most families are handed a list. Not a person.
There is no licensing body for surrogacy agencies, matching services or escrow companies. The directories that exist are largely rosters of who paid to be on them. We built the opposite of that.
Questions we actually get.
Do I have to join to book a session?
No. Sessions are open to anyone. Members just pay $100 less every time, which is why most people join first — two sessions and the membership has paid for itself.
Is there a commitment?
None. There's no package to finish and no journey to sign up for. Some families use one session at the very start and never need another. Some check in every few months for two years. Session packs never expire.
What can I actually ask about?
Anything on the path to parenthood — surrogacy, IVF, egg or sperm donation, embryo donation. Costs, timelines, contracts you don't understand, a quote that doesn't add up, a provider who's making you uneasy, or just whether what you're feeling is normal. Where something needs an attorney, a physician or a therapist, we'll tell you plainly — and help you find a good one.
Will you tell me which agency to use?
We'll give you our vetted list, tell you who on it sponsors Families Out Loud, and hand you the questions that separate a good agency from a bad one. Use them on our list. Use them on anyone else. If someone on our list gives you a bad answer, we want to know.
Is the portal worth it on its own?
We built it so the answer is yes. The cost calculator alone models your real number line by line — most families arrive working from a figure that's missing four or five items entirely. If you never book a session, that's a fine outcome.
Are you attorneys or therapists?
No. We don't give legal, medical or mental health advice, and this isn't therapy. You'll have your own professionals — part of our job is helping you choose them well and telling you when it's time.
The honest fine print.
How we stay independent
- We publish a standard for providers in assisted reproduction. Vetting is free, open to any provider, and applied on identical criteria to everyone.
- Our vetted list always includes providers who don't sponsor us, and sponsor status is marked on the list.
- Sponsorship does not buy vetting, placement, ranking, exclusivity or referrals.
- No provider pays us anything based on whether you choose them. Not a fee, not a commission, not a bonus. Ever.
- Our founder separately owns Families Without Borders, an international surrogacy agency. It is not vetted, not listed, and never referred.
Come back whenever
This isn't a programme you graduate from. Some families use one session at the very beginning and never need another. Some check in every few months for two years. There's no journey commitment and no package to finish.
Start wherever you are.
Join the portal and work through it yourself, or book an hour and talk it through. Either door is the right one.