The Power of Ownership: Data Sovereignty and Survey Tools - Elliot Kim - Checkbox

Elliot Kim, CEO of Checkbox, explores why online survey tools are now largely a solved problem—and why the real differentiator lies in the company behind the product. He explains how Checkbox is building a people-first, purpose-driven business focused on trust, transparency, and customer-centric policies.

Elliot also discusses Checkbox’s broad range of research use cases, and explains how its combination of cloud and on-premise deployment options gives organizations greater control over sensitive data and supports data sovereignty requirements.

The conversation also examines the challenges of modern B2B research, from identifying “dark” prospects outside CRM systems through awareness and perception surveys, to reaching niche audiences with small sample sizes. Elliot shares how persistence, creativity, trusted research panels, and aligned incentives all play a role in driving honest, high-quality responses.

 

About Checkbox

Checkbox is a research-grade survey platform trusted by enterprises and public-sector organizations since 2002. With both SaaS and self-hosted deployment options, Checkbox gives teams full control over their data while making it easy to design, distribute, and act on research at scale.

 

About Elliot Kim

Elliot Kim is the CEO of Checkbox and an engineer at heart with two decades of building and scaling products. Before leading Checkbox, he spent years growing engineering teams and developing people-focused cultures in high-growth environments. He's driven to solve real-world problems through ethical research, done right.

 

Time Stamps

00:33 Elliot’s Career Journey
02:43 Why Another Survey Tool
07:49 Who Uses Checkbox
09:17 Awareness and Perception
11:43 Reliable B2B Research
15:05 Getting Honest Answers
17:24 On Premise and Trust
20:39 Running Better Studies

 

Quotes

“I love solving problems, that’s why I’ll always be an engineer at heart. I feel like I’ve traded satisfaction from my own personal accomplishments for the satisfaction I get from the team’s accomplishments.” Elliot Kim, CEO at Checkbox

“By the time someone enters your CRM, they’ve already made most of their decision — and analytics can’t really tell you about the people who didn’t.” Elliot Kim, CEO at Checkbox

“Marketing is about serving people with honesty and connecting not with every person in the world, but finding the right people and the right audience.” Elliot Kim, CEO at Checkbox

 

Follow Elliot:

Elliot Kim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotykim/

Checkbox website: https://www.checkbox.com/

Checkbox on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/checkbox-com/

 

Follow Mike:

Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/

Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/

Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/

 

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