I've had the pleasure of working for one such company. My experience was exactly as described in the article: even though I enjoyed the team and the environmen

I've had the pleasure of working for one such company. My experience was exactly as described in the article: even though I enjoyed the team and the environment, eventually I was simply not getting what I needed out of the job. My manager was very understanding, and didn't try to feed me any HR "career" BS - he knew that there wasn't enough room for the growth I wanted, and that it made sense for me to move on. He simply said I'm welcome back at any time. The word "alumni" in the article really hit me. Three years later I still occasionally join that team for a beer, and I'm actually introduced to new members as an alumnus. So, yes, such places do actually exist.