Hacker Speak

In an interview conducted in 1999, Naveen Jain, then CEO and head of InfoSpace, shared that his entire business philosophy was based on “having fun, kicking some butt and making some money” while doing it. Now, as the head of Intelius, another company he founded, Naveen Jain continues to embody the same philosophy he used a decade ago.

Naveen Jain is a naturally born workaholic. One of the few who makes work his life. Besides providing for his family, he does nothing else but work. In the same interview, he said that he works 18-hour days, seven days a week. With Intelius, he basically employed a similar work ethic that has proven to be the root of all the success his company is having. In another article about him, he said that like other families, they went to their annual vacation but due to his habit of working, he had a hard time enjoying his free time. He did not know what to do and instead of relaxing, he usually spends his vacation time burning the telephone lines and still doing business.

Naveen Jain compares all of the work he has done for the past twenty years to retirement because he is doing all the things that he has long wanted to do, and he is enjoying every single second of it.

And while having fun, Naveen Jain and Intelius continue to topple over other competitors in the IT industry. With InfoSpace, Naveen Jain experienced continuous growth for all the years that he headed the company and now with Intelius, praises and awards are the usual fixtures annually. As a result of this success, the company has even pondered going public by applying for an IPO as early as 2008, after merely five years in the business.

Through “having fun and kicking some butt,” Naveen Jain loves what he is doing and it clearly shows.