Like: An IPO for innovation

What had been suspected for some time became public at the beginning of February: Facebook has filed for an IPO. The proceeds are officially estimated at USD 5 billion. According to experts, the actual sum is likely to be even higher. Not only Mark Zuckerberg, the management and investors will earn money from the IPO, but around 1,000 of the company's employees will also become millionaires in one fell swoop. However, not only individuals will benefit from the IPO. It can be assumed that, as with previous IPOs, the effects will be felt across the entire industry.

Facebook makes a third of its employees millionaires. What happens next? The example of Google, which went public in 2004, shows that employees react very differently. Some remain loyal to the company despite their sudden wealth, others resign and enjoy the luxury of doing nothing, and some leave the company but remain loyal to the industry. In Silicon Valley, there is almost a tradition dating back to the days when Netscape and PayPal made their employees millionaires. Those who get rich in Silicon Valley invest their money there again. Be it with their own start-ups or as an "angel investor". For example, former Google employees have founded numerous start-ups such as Howcast and FriendFeed. The latter has since been bought up by Google. The same applies to a number of other developments that originated from former engineers and have since been bought back. Evan Williams was the one who invested the millions he made really well. He resigned from Google and founded Twitter.

It can be assumed that a similar development will be observed after Facebook's IPO. In any case, you can be sure that the big winners will reinvest the money in other companies and start-ups. Take Jim Breyer, for example. He is an investor in Etsy and Brightcove, among others. Dustin Moskovitz founded Asana back in 2008 and was one of the largest investors in Path, the 150-friends network. Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, has been investing in promising companies in Silicon Valley for years and supports young students in the development of new business ideas with his fellowship. The Russian Yuri Milner also invests in various tech companies. Twitter, Spotify and Groupon are just a few of them. Before joining Facebook, Mike Schroepfer already had a start-up that was acquired by Sun Microsystems and was the lead developer of Firefox. The creative potential and the financial resources that will be freed up from the approximately 1000 employees are a great opportunity to further boost innovation in the industry.

Not only Facebook employees will be able to benefit. The likely exodus of skilled workers from Facebook will give small start-ups and talented individuals the chance to find employment. With many layoffs - which is to be expected - Facebook will need qualified replacements quickly. This can also be a great opportunity for Facebook to discover innovative technologies and developments and bring new engineers on board. Especially after the IPO, Facebook must endeavor to stay ahead of the competition in order to remain the market leader.

The IPO will possibly be the biggest in web history. Nevertheless, we are likely to be even more excited about the time afterwards. Many new products and ideas will enrich our digital lives and further strengthen the raison d'être of Web 2.0.