Mark Little is leaving Storyful, the media company he founded in 2010.

Writing on the Storyful blog on Thursday, Little said his decision to leave was "not an easy decision but it's a good one. And most importantly, it's my decision alone".

He stepped down as chief executive of Storyful last December, on the first anniversary of the company's acquisition by News Corp for €18 million. The company uses social media feeds, user-generated content and proprietary technology to frame news reporting.

Rahul Chopra, who joined Storyful as chief revenue officer at the time of the News Corp acquisition, became CEO while Little became director of editorial innovation.

“Clichés are clichés because they are true. And that applies to my thought for the day: quit while you’re ahead,” Little wrote on Thursday.

“I have decided to leave Storyful, the company I founded a little over five years ago. It’s not an easy decision but it’s a good one. And most importantly, it’s my decision alone.

“Storyful was an unlikely story from the beginning. I founded the company because I wanted to prove that the eternal values of quality journalism mattered more than ever in the age of social media. And I was determined to prove that the very best journalism is still a great business model.”

He said the global success of the company was “the sweetest feeling”.

He said his departure from Storyful was “proof positive of the strength of the company and its culture.”

Storyful has expanded from 30 team members when it was acquired by News Corp to almost 90 people, in Dublin, New York, London, Hong Kong, Atlanta and Sydney, said Little.

He said he was leaving Storyful with “no absolute certainty” about what he was doing next.

Little is the former Washington Correspondent for RTÉ.