Naveen Jain’s Success and Philanthropic Drive
Naveen Jain co-founded Intelius, a leading info-commerce company that provides businesses and consumers with predictive intelligence for use in decision-making processes and real-world problem solving. It provides services such as people search, comprehensive employment screening, and IDWatch, an identity theft prevention product which actively monitors the personal, professional, and financial data of Intelius’ clients.
The India-born entrepreneur certainly had a long journey before arriving at the cusp of success. Naveen Jain had a 7-year stint with Bill Gates’ software giant, Microsoft. There he co-developed several operating systems such as OS/2 and MS-DOS. He eventually earned the rank of senior executive. Under this authority he managed the launching of MSN, Microsoft’s online service. In 1996, Naveen Jain left Microsoft along with several of his colleagues. Together they formed InfoSpace, a company that greatly benefited from the dot-com boom. This made him a millionaire.
However, Naveen Jain has not forgotten his past nor has ignored the needs of the community. For the IT industry trailblazer, giving to charity has always been a personal and business priority. Naveen Jain and his wife, Anu, believe that at difficult times, it is all the more reason to give to those who are in need.
In 2008, Intelius made a record in corporate giving; the company gave well over $210,000 for local and non-profit organizations focused on education, healthcare, youth and family issues. Organizations that have benefited from Naveen Jain’s philanthropic drive include:
- the Indian American Education Foundation
- Child Rights and You
- Seattle’s Children’s Hospital
- the Vedic Cultural Center
- Bellevue Boys and Girls Club
- University Preparatory Academy
In addition, Naveen Jain has effectively instilled his philanthropic spirit to Intelius’ workforce by implementing a company matching program and offering paid leaves to employees provided they utilize those hours volunteering for an eligible nonprofit of their choice.
The Puget Sound Business Journal gave recognition to this drive, pronouncing Intelius as one of the biggest corporate charity givers.
