Why I left Google
The obligatory manifesto that one needs to publish when leaving Google
I have always believed in “three strikes and you are out”. And that is why I decided to leave Google.
First, we had this great idea to start Google Wind. But Google killed the project by not being willing to scale this beyond the Netherlands. Not enough windmills, they said.
Strike one.
Then, we collaborated with university researchers on an amazing technology to talk to flowers. Google canceled this too. The reason? Privacy. Apparently, the tulips didn’t want to hear from us.
Strike two.
The last straw was when I could not use a bidet the last time I went to Mountainview.
No bidet, no peace.
Happy April Fools’ Day.
P.S. (added after seeing a few of the comments) The reasons in this article are silly, but I have left Google. For the normal reasons of career and personal growth. Google Cloud is still great — in a large company, people come and go. The culture, technical expertise, and business prospects are still very strong.
