THINGS YOU NEVER THINK OF

Ovando:

I have noticed that, as I build my company, many people seem to want to take it from me.

Employees sometimes try to take clients, even convincing those clients that they would be better off with them than with me. Often, they do it subtly, presenting themselves as victims of a tyrannical boss. They play the role of the friend in order to draw people closer to them, and then slowly pull them away. Some also engage in office politics, influencing other employees and manipulating situations so they can avoid responsibility while still guilting me into paying them more.

Organisations I partner with can behave similarly. At first, they seem happy to work with me because I help bring people through their doors and grow their numbers. The arrangement is simple: I hire their space and pay rent. But once they see how many clients I bring in, the dynamic often changes. They begin looking for ways to push me out and take over what I have built. They play games, question my professionalism, and use the court of public opinion to attack my character. They seem to believe I am easily replaceable. Yet, in reality, when they eventually force me out and attempt to take control, they often lose the clients within six months to a year.

Clients themselves can sometimes be difficult as well. They join the classes, but then try to manipulate situations in ways that benefit them while disregarding the impact on me. There often seems to be little understanding of equal exchange. Some appear to believe that my role is simply to give them whatever they want, regardless of the cost to me or the sustainability of the business.

The more I reflect on these experiences, the more I realise how difficult it can be to build something meaningful while also protecting it. When you create value, people are naturally drawn to it. Some appreciate it, some contribute to it, and some simply want access to it without understanding the sacrifice required to build it in the first place.

Jason:

What you’re describing is a very common pattern for founders, especially in service businesses where the product is trust, relationships, and community. Parkour coaching, events, classes, creative services, agencies, gyms — these environments attract emotionally driven people, and the boundaries between friendship, loyalty, business, and identity often get blurred.

A few things stand out from what you wrote:

• You are building value.

• Other people want access to that value without carrying the same burden or risk.

• Many people frame self-interest as morality (“you’re unfair”, “you’re controlling”, “you should give more”).

• You are probably highly tolerant, relationship-oriented, and mission-driven — which makes you vulnerable to manipulation if systems are weak.

That doesn’t mean everyone is malicious. But it does mean that incentives matter more than intentions.

Employees taking clients

This usually happens when:

• the founder personally creates the trust,

• there are weak contractual boundaries,

• staff are allowed to become “mini-founders” without aligned incentives,

• and the culture becomes emotionally rather than structurally managed.

A coach saying:

“I care more about the clients than management does”

is often a socially acceptable way of positioning themselves as the true leader while undermining the actual business owner.

The subtle victim narrative is powerful because it recruits sympathy:

• “I’m underpaid”

• “I do everything”

• “Management doesn’t appreciate us”

• “I just want what’s best for the clients”

Sometimes there is truth in parts of it. But sometimes it becomes a strategy for power acquisition.

The important distinction is this:

Healthy employees build the company with you.

Opportunistic employees build leverage against you.

You can usually tell the difference by watching:

• whether they strengthen systems or bypass them,

• whether they speak directly to you or create alliances behind the scenes,

• whether they want responsibility or only autonomy,

• whether they respect boundaries around clients.

A loyal senior employee may eventually leave and compete fairly. That’s normal.

A manipulative one tries to:

• extract clients,

• damage your reputation,

• recruit your staff,

• rewrite history,

• and portray themselves as morally justified.

That’s not “entrepreneurship.” That’s covert extraction.

The partner organisations

What you described is extremely common in gyms, schools, studios, community centres, and shared-space businesses.

At first:

• they underestimate you,

• they need your energy,

• they love the traffic and culture you create.

Then they realise:

• you are the attraction,

• your community has economic value,

• and they start wondering whether they can own the revenue stream without you.

At that point they often begin:

• reputational attacks,

• bureaucratic pressure,

• selective rule enforcement,

• passive-aggressive professionalism claims,

• attempts to separate you from your clients.

This usually means they do not understand why your clients came in the first place.

They think:

“It’s the location.”

But often it’s:

• leadership,

• trust,

• consistency,

• emotional connection,

• identity,

• atmosphere,

• vision.

Those are much harder to copy.

That’s why the clients disappear after the founder leaves. The invisible value leaves with them.

Difficult clients

This is another founder problem:when you are highly service-oriented, some people unconsciously start treating you like a parent rather than a provider.

They stop thinking in terms of:

• exchange,

• fairness,

• sustainability,

• reciprocity.

And start thinking:

• “If they cared, they’d do this for me.”

• “A good coach would make exceptions.”

• “Why can’t you just…”

• “It’s only one thing…”

One client asking for special treatment feels small.

Fifty clients doing it destroys the business.

The hardest lesson for many founders is:

If you don’t protect the business structure, eventually you cannot help anyone at all.

What may be happening psychologically

You may be experiencing a repeated cycle:

1. You build something through genuine effort.

2. People become emotionally attached to the value.

3. They begin feeling entitled to the value.

4. Boundaries feel offensive to them.

5. When you enforce boundaries, you become “the bad guy.”

6. They morally justify taking from you.

This can make founders become:

• hyper-vigilant,

• distrustful,

• isolated,

• emotionally exhausted.

The danger is swinging too far into paranoia or bitterness.

Not everyone is trying to take from you.But many people will follow incentives.

So the solution is not becoming cold.It is becoming structurally strong.

What usually helps

1. Reduce dependency on personal trust alone

If all value flows through your personality and goodwill, you become vulnerable.

You need:

• contracts,

• written policies,

• clear client ownership rules,

• staff role definitions,

• payment structures,

• professional boundaries.

Not because you’re harsh.Because ambiguity becomes a battlefield.

2. Stop over-explaining boundaries

Manipulative people often weaponise empathy.

You do not need a moral defence for every boundary.

Sometimes:

• “That’s not our policy.”

• “That doesn’t work for the business.”

• “We’re not able to offer that.”

is enough.

3. Watch for covert status competition

Some employees do not actually want fairness.They want influence and recognition.

If they cannot achieve it directly, they may:

• build emotional coalitions,

• undermine authority,

• become indispensable socially,

• frame themselves as “for the people.”

This is more political than operational.

4. Build systems that survive personalities

If clients only stay because of you personally, scaling becomes dangerous.

You want:

• a clear culture,

• repeatable standards,

• documented onboarding,

• shared language,

• team alignment,

• visible values.

Then staff strengthen the culture instead of hijacking it.

5. Choose partners based on incentives, not enthusiasm

Early enthusiasm means almost nothing.

Watch:

• how they behave once you become valuable,

• whether agreements stay stable after growth,

• whether they celebrate your success or become territorial.

A good partner becomes more cooperative as value increases.A bad partner becomes threatened.

6. Don’t confuse being needed with being respected

Some people need your labour while resenting your authority.

That distinction matters.

One final thing

The fact that clients often leave after you’re pushed out suggests something important:

You are probably contributing more real value than your critics admit.

But if that value lives mostly inside you personally, people will keep trying to capture it.

The long-term move is to turn:

• charisma into culture,

• trust into systems,

• relationships into infrastructure,

• and goodwill into enforceable structure.

That is how founders stop being endlessly vulnerable to extraction.