SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Experience management software, Market research, Cloud computing
Predecessor	Momentive Global Inc. (2021–2023)
Founded	January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01) in Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Founder	Ryan Finley
Headquarters	San Mateo , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Zander Lurie (CEO)
Products	SurveyMonkey platform, GetFeedback, TechValidate, Momentive Insights
Number of employees	1400 (2022)
Website	www.surveymonkey.com

SurveyMonkey Inc. (known as Momentive Global Inc. from 2021 until 2023) is a company specializing in experience management, offering cloud-based software solutions that support customer, employee, product, and brand experience, alongside market research, online survey creation, and associated subscription-based backend services.

The company’s main office is located within leased premises at Franklin Templeton Investments in San Mateo, California. SurveyMonkey also maintains additional offices in Portland, Oregon, Ottawa, Dublin, Amsterdam, London, Sydney, Padua, Bengaluru, and Heredia, Costa Rica. As of 2022, the workforce numbered around 1,400 employees.

On June 9, 2021, the firm rebranded as Momentive to highlight its growing portfolio of business-to-business products while continuing to operate SurveyMonkey as a subsidiary platform. The Momentive brand encompassed Momentive itself, GetFeedback, Techvalidate, and SurveyMonkey.

Following its acquisition by an investor consortium led by Symphony Technology Group in June 2023, the company reverted to using the SurveyMonkey name.

Establishment

SurveyMonkey was established in 1999 by Ryan Finley in Madison, Wisconsin, with the goal of providing an easy-to-use tool for gathering customer insights. In 2005, Finley relocated the company to Portland, Oregon, where it experienced substantial growth in both user base and revenue. In 2008, Dave Goldberg joined as CEO and the company secured growth funding from Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital.

The headquarters moved to Silicon Valley’s Palo Alto, California in early 2013. Four years later, in 2017, SurveyMonkey shifted to a larger office space at One Curiosity Way in San Mateo. The company went public on September 25, 2018, listing on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol SVMK.

Growth and Development

In 2010, SurveyMonkey obtained $100 million in debt financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. By 2013, total capital raised through debt and equity reached $800 million with a valuation of approximately $1.35 billion. That year also saw the introduction of HIPAA-compliant features available to premium users.

In 2014, the company secured $250 million in equity investments from notable backers such as Google Capital (now CapitalG), Tiger Global Management, Baillie Gifford, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley. After CEO Dave Goldberg passed away in May 2015, Zander Lurie assumed the role of board chairman. Bill Veghte briefly served as CEO before Lurie took over leadership in January 2016.

Beginning in 2016, SurveyMonkey expanded into public opinion polling through its platform but received a 'C' rating from poll rating site FiveThirtyEight. The following year introduced "SurveyMonkey Genius," an AI-powered feature designed to enhance survey effectiveness, along with "SurveyMonkey CX," targeting customer experience management programs.

The company’s debut on NASDAQ occurred on September 26, 2018; shares opened at $12 and surged by 43% during the first trading day. That same year marked the appointment of Emory University Goizueta Business School dean Erika James to the board of directors, achieving gender balance among board members.

After the COVID-19 emergency phase subsided, SurveyMonkey leveraged its own platform to assess employee preferences regarding work arrangements: results showed that 84% supported flexible work policies; 81% preferred working remotely up to three days weekly; only 5% desired a full-time office presence.

Acquisitions

The firm broadened its range of survey solutions through the acquisitions of Precision Polling, Wufoo, Zoomerang, and a 49.9% ownership in UK-based Clicktools. In August 2014, it purchased Fluidware, a Canadian company behind FluidSurveys.com and FluidReview.com. The subsequent year saw the acquisition of TechValidate, a Canadian enterprise specializing in marketing content automation.

By March 2019, SurveyMonkey enhanced its website and application survey offerings by acquiring Usabilla, headquartered in Amsterdam, for $80 million paid in cash and stock. Later that year, it also integrated GetFeedback, a San Francisco-based organization focused on customer experience management.

Transition to Momentive and buyout offers

On June 9, 2021, SurveyMonkey underwent rebranding to become Momentive, signifying its broadened emphasis on experience management and business insights. This change unified SurveyMonkey, GetFeedback, and Momentive Insights under a single brand.

Zendesk announced on October 28, 2021, an all-stock acquisition proposal for MomentiveAI valued at roughly $4.1 billion. Zendesk’s CEO Mikkel Svane emphasized the alignment of their customer bases and the potential for synergistic benefits. Although Momentive’s shareholders approved the transaction, Zendesk’s investors declined it, resulting in the deal’s cancellation.

In March 2023, a private equity group led by Symphony Technology Group agreed to purchase Momentive in an all-cash deal worth $1.5 billion, finalized in June 2023.

By September 2024, SurveyMonkey downsized its leased office footprint from 120,000 to 60,000 square feet through relocation to Franklin Templeton Investments’ headquarters located in Bay Meadows.

See also

• Comparison of survey software