• Fortune, Wednesday, December 6, 2006 10:30 AM

Sooner or later, we'll start to see an exodus of smart people from Google, which could signal the beginning of the end of Google's Web dominance. Eventually, everyone in that room wants to be top dog, and becomes bored with a limiting corporate structure.

John Kraus, a new Google hire following the absorption of his company JotSpot by the search giant, marvels at how smart the Google is. But brilliant minds boxed into a big company inevitably grow dissatisfied with their inability to shine individually. Think of Google's roster as the corporate equivalent of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, which is like calling the company a team of superstars destined to underachieve.

The likely outcome here that Google's trophy hires will slowly fall away and startup their own companies, which Google will either buy or find a way to partner with. After all, if a company the size of PayPal can kick off a second wave that includes LinkedIn, Slide, Yelp, YouTube, Clarium Capital, and Room 9 Entertainment, among others, the sons-of-Google wave should be a world-changer.

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