i wonder if this sort of stuff doesn't happen more often, people without a seat at the table basically are dependent on the goodwill of the founders, investors

i wonder if this sort of stuff doesn't happen more often, people without a seat at the table basically are dependent on the goodwill of the founders, investors etc... and we all know that for many people greed trumps any sort of morality. In your opinion, is there anything you could have done better to protect yourself?