Leaving Facebook at Its Peak
Dustin Moskovitz was one of the original co-founders of Facebook, serving as CTO and later as VP of Engineering. Despite being part of one of the fastest-growing tech companies in history, he began to feel a strong pull toward solving deeper issues—specifically, how teams manage work and communicate effectively. Even as Facebook scaled, he saw the cost of internal disorganization and inefficiencies.
The Big Idea That Wouldn’t Wait
In 2008, Moskovitz made a surprising decision: he left Facebook to pursue a different mission. Along with Justin Rosenstein, a fellow Facebook engineer, he decided to create a tool that could solve the kind of coordination problems they’d experienced firsthand. They didn’t just want to build another app—they wanted to build a better way to work.
Building Asana From the Ground Up
Rather than adapting an existing model, Moskovitz and Rosenstein started fresh. They created Asana with the belief that work should be clear, collaborative, and scalable. The product was designed to reduce “work about work”—things like constant check-ins, scattered emails, and unclear responsibilities—so teams could focus on the work that mattered most.
Designing a Culture of Intentionality
From day one, Asana emphasized mindfulness, thoughtful decision-making, and sustainable growth. Moskovitz was vocal about not replicating the hyper-speed, burnout-prone culture common in Silicon Valley. He wanted Asana to be a company that helped teams work better—and lived by those principles internally.
Scaling Without Compromise
Asana officially launched in 2012 and grew steadily through a product-led approach. Instead of chasing rapid growth fueled by aggressive sales tactics, the company focused on delivering real value to its users. Organizations across industries began adopting the tool to increase clarity and accountability.
A New Kind of Tech Leadership
By the time Asana went public via direct listing in 2020, the company had become a recognized leader in the collaboration space, serving over 100,000 organizations. Moskovitz remained deeply involved, ensuring that the company’s original values of transparency, purpose, and well-being remained central even as Asana scaled globally.
Conclusion
Dustin Moskovitz didn’t just leave Facebook to start another tech company—he left to fix something he felt was broken in how the world works. With Asana, he reimagined workplace productivity by combining technical skill with deep thoughtfulness. His story proves that the most successful founders aren’t always chasing the next big thing—they’re solving the problems that matter most to them.
