Waking Giant: Intelius
In the wake of his departure from InfoSpace, celebrated Indian-American businessman Naveen Jain bounced back with Intelius, an intelligence services company. Located in Bellevue, Washington, it mostly serves Americans looking for public intelligence on other people.
Anyone could order public intelligence, but nobody has the time, energy, or even the prowess to do it. Oftentimes one would have to flout bureaucracy to get hold of that much coveted public information, a process that has been rendered unnecessary, thanks to Intelius.
Intelius has a massive compendium of public data, gathered from billions of public records that cover dockets, tax filings, telephone listings, real estate deeds, marriage certificates, and many other documents of public agencies. In turn, Intellius is well-equipped to make a number of intelligence services. The company has gained critical acclaim for some of them, like IDWatch and employment screenings.
Ordinary people can then know if they are dealing with criminals; find the address of long-lost relatives and associates; protect against sleazy dates; verify if a person is married; know the owners of attractive real estate; and so much more.
Intelius is now among the fastest-growing private businesses in Washington, ranked eighth among its peers in the state by Deloitte. Inc. Magazine even includes the company in the ranking of the 500 fastest-growing private firms in the US, citing considerable revenue spikes over the years.
Beyond business, Intellius works just as well as a philanthropic outfit. It has donated to more than 50 nonprofit organizations in and out Washington, like Kindering Center, Hopelink, Indian-American Education Foundation, Overlake Service League, United Way - King County, and the Seattle Children’s Hospital. Due this laudable outreach effort, the Puget Sound Business Journal named it among the top 15 corporate philanthropists in the state.
Ernst and Young greatly considered Naveen Jain in its 2006 search for the Entrepreneur of the Year because of his work with the firm. He is presently its president.
