Barack Zimmerman, CEO, County House Research

Grab a latte and pull up a chair to join us for a great interview with
Barack Zimmerman, CEO, County House Research.

How long have you been in the background check industry and what led you to join the industry? 

County House Research has been in business for 25 years. There was an oppor-
tunity to get into the industry in 1999. At that time, “high tech” meant multiple fax

machines for requests. Still, it was a fun time to be in the industry. I don’t think I
ever imagined that we’d be where we are today.

What is important about your company that you want people to know?

Technology may change but the guiding principles are the same. Our mission is to
take out the doubt. We want to be a trusted partner, getting accurate information
in as timely a manner as possible. We put huge effort into quality control. We call
it the “it’s our search too” mindset. We treat every client like we would want to be
treated and every request as if our whole business depends on it.

Any important announcements about products or services or future direction you would like to talk about? 

We’re expanding our services to new states and jurisdictions all the time. In addi-
tion to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, we offer service in all Illinois counties, Geor-
gia, and North Carolina. This year we launched service in California, Kansas, and

Michigan, and we now offer a countywide search in Massachusetts. We’ll be rolling
out additional jurisdictions and services in 2024-2025. The goal is to be a national
provider of in-court public information research.

If you had a Crystal Ball and could look into the future, what do you see happening in the background screening industry 10 years from now?

More automation and broader use of AI. I wouldn’t count humans out completely,
though. People’s livelihoods and reputations are on the line and machines are only
as good as their programming.

What is your favorite quote? 

One of my current favorites is from Groucho Marx: “Outside of a dog, a book is
man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” It’s funny, but it’s also a
two-sentence lesson in creative thinking.

If you could meet anyone regardless of whether the person is alive or not
who would you want to meet and why? 

Mahatma Gandhi. I wonder what he’d think of the current state of the world. I sus-
pect he’d be familiar with many of today’s problems.