In the hit Netflix show Nobody Wants This, lead character Joanne takes to social media to uncover details about her new boyfriend’s last relationship. Her initial web searches fail to turn up results about the right woman, and even when she finds a LinkedIn profile, Joanne has limited success tracking down any relevant information.
Tracking down information online has more serious implications for Spokeo’s users and clients, though. The “people search engine” provides businesses and consumers with access to broad collections of public and regulated data (the latter being only available to qualified enterprise users), offering data intelligence solutions for people search, verification and investigative needs.
For Spokeo’s team, the company’s new Right Party Contact tool is more than just an addition to its Spokeo for Business product line — it’s a testament to the company’s culture of innovation and excellence. The RPC tool revolutionizes how organizations such as debt collection companies, law enforcement and government agencies access and utilize data, blending regulated and public information that can be used for skip tracing and investigations. The product’s advanced aggregation capabilities produce curated profiles that organize available information, leading to streamlined debt recovery and enhanced investigative processes.
But behind this powerful tool is a team of talented individuals who drive Spokeo’s success.
According to SVP of Product Management David Kwan, whose prior leadership experiences within B2B SaaS/software companies are particularly relevant for Spokeo’s growth strategy, developing the RPC tool required cross-functional collaboration, which allowed team members to grow their skills and take ownership of a project that will help shape the future of the industry.
“Each team’s expertise was vital for addressing all aspects of product development, from tech implementation to regulatory compliance,” Kwan said.
Built In heard more from Kwan about how the team collaborated to develop the RPC product, as well as details about the tech possibilities it creates.
Why is your team excited about the Right Party Contact product?
In a world where data drives actions and decisions, the Spokeo for Business product line stands at the forefront of actionable intelligence, pioneering advanced solutions that blend transparency with trust. Our latest enhancements redefine the landscape of data aggregation, offering unparalleled breadth, depth and insight. The Right Party Contact product empowers organizations — such as first- and third-party collections companies as well as law enforcement and government agencies — with actionable intelligence, improving efficiency in locating debtors and investigations or search subjects and enhancing investigative capabilities.
Why did the company need to launch the RPC tool? What gave rise to it, and what impact will this product launch have on the business or its customers?
Spokeo developed the RPC web app to offer a unique data experience for B2B customers, expanding beyond our consumer-focused offerings. In launching the RPC web app, Spokeo responded to enterprise users’ needs for higher-quality data by incorporating regulated data to complement Spokeo’s publicly sourced information, like social media data coverage. This RPC product offers more accuracy and reliability for customers, enabling effective skip tracing, debtor identification and law enforcement investigations. The RPC web app is the first step, with plans for enhanced offerings through batch append and APIs, broadening Spokeo’s regulated data product lineup.
This allows for market expansion like banking, debt collections and law enforcement, as well as competitive differentiation like integrating regulated and social media data to offer fresher, more accurate contact information. Social media data naturally reflects updated details like contact info, jobs and addresses and covers groups absent in regulated data, such as the unbanked. Overall, the product strengthens Spokeo’s market position and meets businesses’ needs for higher-quality data intelligence solutions.
“The RPC product allows for market expansion as well as competitive differentiation like integrating regulated and social media data to offer fresher, more accurate contact information.”
What role did you play in developing and launching RPC ? What tools or technologies did your team use to build it?
In my role, I contributed to the development and launch of the RPC product by initiating market research to identify opportunities and shape Spokeo’s approach to sales and marketing for a new B2B audience. This research informed us to design product features and position the product to meet our target customers’ needs effectively. As SVP of product management, I led my product management team to work with their respective agile scrum development teams and orchestrate a complex project alongside other engineering teams such as DevOps, InfoSec and others. As a result, we collaborated and delivered an entirely new offering from Spokeo to offer to a new customer base.
Our team leveraged a variety of industry-accepted technologies to ensure safety, compliance, and enhanced functionality. At the core of our tech stack is AWS, which provides secure environments that comply with industry standards to protect sensitive data and safeguard against potential security threats. AWS’ robust security measures ensure that our data-handling processes meet the highest standards of compliance and reliability. We also integrated OpenSearch for its advanced features, including fuzzy search logic, allowing us to develop more flexible yet targeted search capabilities tailored to meet our users’ needs. OpenSearch’s industry-standard functionality enhances our ability to deliver precise results while maintaining data integrity and security. We also used tools such as Cognito, Athena, S3 and DynamoDB.
What obstacles did you encounter in the product development process?
During the development of the RPC product, we faced several obstacles, such as handling sensitive personally identifiable information. Spokeo has always taken the handling of PII with the utmost care. As a result, it brought notable challenges, including stringent compliance requirements and the need for enhanced data security to prevent unauthorized access.
To overcome these obstacles, we implemented hashing and encryption protocols to protect sensitive data, ensuring compliance with regulations and safeguarding information of people and the users throughout the data lifecycle. This approach allowed us to securely manage PII while maintaining data integrity.
To keep the team motivated and aligned, we established a clear project plan with milestones, celebrating each achieved milestone as a way to maintain momentum. We divided the feature development into phases — minimum viable product and post-MVP features. This allowed the sales team to start pitching the product once MVP was ready, which boosted motivation for the team to continue working on subsequent enhancements. Initiating early sales conversations and witnessing market interest further inspired the team to push forward and deliver the complete product.
What strategies did you employ to ensure that cross-functional collaboration went smoothly?
We employed several strategies to ensure smooth cross-functional collaboration. Regular meetings kept all teams aligned and provided a forum to address concerns. Established communication lines between product managers facilitated efficient information flow and decision-making.
We identified project dependencies and potential blockers early, tracking them to stay on course. We also used a streamlined decision-making approach with clear ownership across teams, ensuring alignment on data and product requirements. And we leveraged tools like milestone tracking and Gantt charts to maintain progress and accountability.
These strategies allowed us to maintain momentum, effectively tackle challenges and keep the product on track for a successful launch.
