Around the Net

Ex-Googlers Explain Why They Left

The defection of talent can be a major problem for big companies, particularly tech companies, as innovative entrepreneurials often feel stifled by the large corporate environment. The same problem has plagued Microsoft and Yahoo, but it's now plaguing Google--once the destination for top industry talent, too. At last week's Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, former employees of the search giant opened up about why they left the company.

Some said they simply "wanted to go on my own path" and have started their own companies or work at venture capital firms. "The financial incentives are important," said Patrick Keane, a former Google exec and Founder's Award winner, who moved onto CBS Interactive. Google's Founder's Award is a hefty stock grant given to the employee who shows "extraordinary entrepreneurial achievement."

As Keane can attest, money isn't enough to keep the creative types happy, which going forward, will be one of Google's biggest challenges. Meanwhile, Google hired 2,130 new employees in the most recent quarter, growing its workforce by 18% to 16,000. As one Piper Jaffray analyst tells USA Today, "They're continuing to hire like drunken sailors." It seems the company is planning something big; nevertheless, it will struggle to keep all those people happy.

Read the whole story at Information Week »

Next story loading loading..