One Year After The IPO, Facebook Talent Is Fleeing To Find The Next Big Thing

It's something that happens to many companies once they reach an exit and employee retention plans fully vest. Unsurprisingly, the talent is heading to smaller, private companies, some which have big-time potential like Facebook did a few years ago.

Yesterday, Business Insider spoke to a Facebook product manager who's on the way out, Josh Williams. The acquired Gowalla founder didn't reveal much about what he'll do next, just that he'll likely be working on a new startup.

Instagram's lead designer, Tim Van Damme, is also leaving Facebook. He's heading for Dropbox, AllThingsD reports. There he'll join former Facebook designers Soleio Cuervo and Rasmus Andersson.

Today, another Facebook executive also announced his departure. Tom Arrix, Facebook's head of North American sales, is leaving after seven years. He hasn't announced what he'll do next. There is still a lot of talent at Facebook. Sheryl Sandberg, for example, is still there, although she's been unloading a lot of stock lately.

Tumblr, another tech company with a recent large exit, is finding itself in a similar position. Just weeks after the $1.1 billion Yahoo acquisition Tumblr lost its media director, Mark Coatney and Creative Director Jacob Bijani left shortly before that.