Just three years after going public, Google may be losing some of its top talent. In a recent New York Times feature, a number of Google veterans appear to be taking their stock options and talents elsewhere in Silicon Valley.

While Google is not in danger of losing its brain trust -- the company now has more than 16,000 employees -- the current exodus points to what many see as standard operating procedure for dot-coms. Once a company becomes successful, many of its early employees leave to take on new challenges as entrepreneurs, venture capitalists or angel investors.

In The New York Times article, reporter Miguel Helft likens the current wave of ex-Googlers to PayPal vets, many of whom went on to found and finance companies like YouTube and LinkedIn. That group has since come to be known as the PayPal Mafia.

While time will tell if Google vets are able to take their skills and make them work elsewhere, the growing importance of advertising on the web seems to forecast a bright future for company alums.

"Google arguably is at the center of the online advertising ecosystem," Roger Lee, a general partner at venture capital firm Battery Ventures, told the paper. "If you understand how Google works and how associated business models work, it gives you a great lens to understand other advertising companies."