Now that Facebook has gone public, the party is over, and you can expect a few high-level insiders to “feel the entrepreneurial itch” (read: sell their stock) and “pursue creative opportunities” (read: buy a house in Malibu).
The post-IPO exodus began today, with Facebook’s chief technology officer Bret Taylor deciding to leave the company to “work on an undetermined start-up,” AllThingsD reported. Taylor, a former Googler, came to Zuckerworld by way of his own social aggregation site, FriendFeed, which was acquired by Facebook in 2009.
Taylor was among the most powerful executives at Facebook, with both the site’s platform and mobile divisions under his rule. A high-level defection looks bad for Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is already struggling to keep employee morale high after the glitch-plagued IPO.
But Taylor says not to make a big deal of it.
“Cross-pollination among companies is what drives so much of innovation, so I would not project a lot onto this event,” he said. “I am really confident that the mobile and platform leaders at Facebook can deliver what needs to be done.”
Taylor hasn’t decided on a new start-up yet, but said he would work with another former Googler Kevin Gibbs on whatever he does next. Together, the two of them will hopefully steal one of Zuckerberg’s ideas and turn it into a $100 billion company, thereby avenging the Winklevii and completing the circle of karma.
