Naveen Jain
From India, Naveen Jain flew to the US in 1982 in pursuit of the American Dream. He seemed to have found it in Microsoft.
In June 1989, Naveen Jain started to work for the seminal corporation; he even became senior executive later on. He headed marketing campaigns for the operating system Windows NT. Jain also jointly developed the Microsoft Network.
When he “got tired making billions for Bill Gates” in March 1996, Naveen Jain resigned and shortly thereafter, founded InfoSpace in Redmond, Washington. Basically, the company provides packaged content including news, weather forecasts, stock quotes, classified ads, white pages, yellow pages, and maps. Clients included America Online, Lycos, Go.com and Snap.com. The company went public on NASDAQ in 1998.
Naveen Jain marked another career milestone in January 2003, when he co-founded Intelius with some Microsoft compatriots. He serves as CEO of the Bellevue-based firm.
Without breaching anyone’s privacy, Intelius tracks crucial information in real time, from its spacious database of public records and for anyone who asks. It makes for an effective tool for employment, such that one can weed out disreputable characters among prospective employees. It’s said to be advantageous in selecting house contractors and healthcare providers, too. Parents likewise can use it to deal with criminals, in behalf of their children. Likewise, it has been used to reconnect with long lost friends and family war veterans account for some of its subscription. It also boasts of a critically acclaimed identity theft protection program.
Receiving over a million hits daily on its site, the company reports an 800% spike in customers since its foundation.
Intelius has reaped the Stevie Award for Best New Company in 2006. Naveen Jain himself is the recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Information Week named him among the “People Who Will Change the Net”; Red Herring listed him as one of the 20 Top Entrepreneurs.
Naveen Jain studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, where he graduated in 1979. He is an active philanthropist, giving back generously to CRY India, United Way, the University of Washington, and Children’s Hospital.
Winner of the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, Naveen Jain has patented some revolutionary operating systems, applications, and other technologies. In 2000, Forbes recognized him one of America’s 400 Richest.
Links:
A very brief executive profile of Naveen Jain.
The Forbes profile of Intelius, Inc and its CEO, Naveen Jain.
Personal information about Naveen Jain.
This article discusses Naveen Jain’s time at Infospace.