Intelius CEO Naveen Jain is a highly regarded member of the Seattle business community. He gained prominence as the maverick group manager from Microsoft who founded InfoSpace in March 1996 without venture capitalist backing. During the heydays of the dot com era, InfoSpace became a gold standard in information technology and Naveen Jain, the man capable of making gigantic profits out of his simple ideas. Since then, his vision for IT and ideas for entrepreneurship have been sought by budding entrepreneurs and established businessmen all over the country.
Naveen Jain is a great believer in the potential of entrepreneurship to steer economic progress not only for the individual, but for communities. To the India-born Jain, businesses do not exist simply for profit, but as an integral part in society as well. Thus, he reaches out to fellow CEOs and business leaders and urges them to perform their social responsibilities sincerely.
With the way the global economy is currently going, the need for businesses to assume a philanthropic role is vital. As a notable philanthropist, Naveen Jain contributes to nonprofit organizations in his personal capacity. He is a regular contributor to several local and national nonprofits and charities such as The United Way, Hopelink, Overlake Service League, Youthcare, Bellevue Boys and Girls Club, Children’s Hospital, and CRY India. In his capacity as head of a highly profitable company, giving back to the community is a top leadership priority. Since its inception in 2003, Intelius has become one of Seattle area’s most active contributors to nonprofit organizations. In 2008, the firm increased its corporate giving to $210,000, thereby setting a new company record.
Naveen Jain’s vigilance in corporate social responsibility has been translated to several honors and citations. His firm received honors as one of the Top 15 Corporate Philanthropists in the Puget Sound Area, and was recently cited as Eastside Outstanding Community Citizen during the Eastside Business Awards.