🦊 The Fox in the Henhouse

When Growth Comes at the Cost of F*cking Up Everything Else That’s Next

Let’s talk about the moment you realise:

There’s a fox in the henhouse. And you’re the one who opened the gate.

You didn’t mean to. In fact, it felt like the right move at the time. Smart. Strategic. Maybe even essential.

• That advisor.

• That investor.

• That “scaling partner."

• That well-meaning consultant who used the word systemise like it was a magic spell.

• That senior leader with the sharp suit and subtle power plays.

• That employee whose loyalty was to the ladder, not the legacy.

• Even the co-founder who started speaking in someone else’s language.

You trusted them. And now…

You’re alone in the business you built. Watching a version of it move further from what you believed in. Still in control, technically. But no longer in power.

Because there’s a fox in the henhouse. And not all of them came from the outside.

Some were invited in. Some were hired in. Some grew up inside the walls. Some were always there… hiding in plain sight.

And worst of all, some days, it feels like the fox might be you.

You know that moment in the movie "The Founder" when one of the McDonald brothers realises Ray Kroc isn’t just ambitious, he’s about to rewrite the whole origin story without them?

“There’s a fox in the henhouse… and we invited him in.”

That line hits different when you’ve built something real. Something pure. Something that mattered.

Because it’s never just about money, is it?

It’s about meaning. About the smell of the original kitchen. About your name on the door. About the promise you made to yourself and the people who believed in you when it was just a sketch and a prayer.

This is the loneliness no one talks about.

When you’re still wearing the founder title, but you’re not sure if you’re the one leading anymore. When the culture’s shifting, and you’re not sure you like where it’s headed. When the team says all the right things, but something deeper feels… off.

And who do you turn to?

• Not the board.

• Not the exec team.

• Not the high-performing COO who already has a vision for “what we could become.”

You’re tired.

Tired of the narrative. Tired of selling a future you don’t fully believe in. Tired of being surrounded… and still feeling utterly alone.

This is the moment most founders quietly crash. Or over-correct. Or sell too early. Or stay too long.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

What if there was a place where foxes weren’t allowed? Where no one’s angling for your chair. Where “scaling” isn’t the only metric of success. Where you don’t have to perform. Don’t have to pitch. Don’t have to protect the image.

Just show up.

Empty raincoat. Full heart. Real talk.

That’s what we’re building here.

Not a network. Not a club. Not another fox in disguise.

A safe space 1to1, a fire circle for founders who still care. Still dare. And are still here.

👇 Give me a Call

If any part of this landed. If you felt even a flicker of recognition.

If you're sitting in that same quiet unease...

Don’t wait for the next strategy day. Don’t let it drift further.

Send me a message. I won’t pitch you anything. But I will listen, founder to founder. And if it makes sense, I’ll show you ho we can be of help and what we do inside The Alchemists.

No pressure. Just presence.

Because the next move really matters. And you don’t have to make it alone.

-- regards Alan