Just a few years after paying off his student loans and only about one year after making his first private investment in Photobucket Inc., Chris Sacca is leaving Google Inc. to become an angel investor.

As the search giant's head of special initiatives, Sacca is best known for leading the company's efforts to open up the wireless spectrum to more competition. Many credit those efforts with pushing Verizon Wireless to allow customers the option of using their own devices and accessing their own applications on the Verizon network. Google has not named a replacement for Sacca, who departs at the end of this month.

Whether Sacca will fly solo as an angel or join a "micro VC" firm, such as Josh Kopelman's First Round Capital or Y Combinator, isn't clear. It's also uncertain precisely why he's leaving Google (which might give him time to indulge his interest in surfing, kite surfing and skiing). Financially, the time seems right. The value of Sacca's Google stock has risen 75% since telling VentureBeat a year ago that he didn't have the financial firepower of Google's earlier employees, such as Georges Harik, who invested in social-shopping site Kaboodle Inc. (acquired earlier this year by Hearst Interactive Media reportedly for between $30 and $40 million in cash).
 
If Sacca's virgin investment is any indication, his career as an angel is promising. Photobucket was acquired by MySpace.com parent company Fox Interactive Media Inc. in June for $250 million. - Mary Kathleen Flynn

To see how the blogosphere is buzzing about Sacca's move, see  webpronews.com, SiliconAlleyInsider, MocoNews.Net, ValleyWag, Mashable, Blogcosm
See Nov. 30 story from TheDeal.com
See Dec. 12 post from VentureBeat
See Sacca's blog, whatisleft.org
See Aug. 8 post from Tech Confidential