It took longer than most thought and may be a lighter hit than expected, but the exodus of a Yahoo-owned Tumblr has begun with the resignation of Creative Director Jacob Bijani.
He was the fifth employee of the startup five years ago and the first designer to join the team. In a blog post, he did not mention Yahoo at all, nor did he discuss his relationship with any other executives.
Today was my last day at Tumblr.
Five years ago I joined a team of four as Tumblr’s first designer, creative director, and product engineer. That team has since grown to 182 of the most wonderful and talented people around.
I’m so proud of what we’ve all created together, and it’s been a privilege to contribute to something beloved by so many. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the product; I’m sure it will be nothing short of incredible.
There’s still a lot more I want to accomplish, and I’m really excited about this next chapter. For now, I’m going to take some time off to digest the last few years. I have about a dozen different projects planned, so expect more from me soon!
Despite not mentioning the new parent company, the timing couldn’t be random. Is he expecting a raw deal in the way his position is going to fit in with the company? Is it just a “take the money and run” play? We’ll see what new projects he has up his sleeve once the dust settles.
