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SurveyMonkey

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SurveyMonkey Inc.
FormerlyMomentive Global Inc. (2021–23)
Company typePrivate (1999–2018, since 2023)
Industry
Founded1999; 26 years ago (1999)[1]
Founders
  • Ryan Finley
  • Chris Finley
HeadquartersSan Mateo, California, U.S.
Number of locations
San Mateo, Portland, Dublin, Ottawa, London, Amsterdam, Sydney[2]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Eric Johnson (CEO)[3]
ProductsCloud-based experience management and survey software
RevenueIncrease US$481 million (2022)
Increase US$−81 million (2022)
Increase US$−90 million (2022)
Total assetsDecrease US$810 million (2022)
Total equityDecrease US$287 million (2022)
OwnerSymphony Technology Group
Number of employees
1,300 (November 2023)
Websitesurveymonkey.com
Footnotes / references
[4]

SurveyMonkey Inc. (formerly Momentive Global Inc. from 2021 to 2023) is an experience management company that offers cloud-based software in brand insights, market insights, product experience, employee experience, customer experience, online survey development, and a suite of paid back-end programs.[5][6]

Along with its San Mateo, California headquarters in leased space at Franklin Templeton Investments headquarters,[7] SurveyMonkey also has offices in Portland, Ottawa, Dublin, Amsterdam, London, and Sydney.[8] As of 2022, SurveyMonkey employed around 1,400 people.[4]

On June 9, 2021, SurveyMonkey announced its rebrand to Momentive with the intent to better represent their business-to-business product suite. SurveyMonkey continued to operate as a subsidiary survey platform.[9] The Momentive Inc. product portfolio included Momentive, GetFeedback, and SurveyMonkey.[6]

In June 2023, the company rebranded itself back to SurveyMonkey after being acquired by an investor group led by Symphony Technology Group.[3][10]

History

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Founding

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SurveyMonkey was founded by Ryan Finley and Chris Finley in 1999. In 2009, Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital acquired a majority interest in the company.[11] The same year, Dave Goldberg joined SurveyMonkey as CEO.[12]

The company went public under the name SurveyMonkey (Nasdaq: SVMK) on September 25, 2018.[13]

Expansion

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In 2010, the company received $100 million in debt financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.[14] By 2013, SurveyMonkey raised $800 million in debt and equity valuing the company at $1.35 billion.[15] In September 2013, the company announced HIPAA-compliant features for premium subscription holders.[16]

In 2014, the company raised $250 million in equity financing from Google Capital (now CapitalG), Tiger Global Management, Baillie Gifford, T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley.[17]

Dave Goldberg died in May 2015, and Zander Lurie was named chairman of the board in July of the same year.[18][19]

On August 3, 2015, Bill Veghte replaced Goldberg as SurveyMonkey CEO. Veghte held top posts at HP and Microsoft.[20] Veghte left the role after fewer than 6 months due to strategic differences with investors and was replaced by Zander Lurie in January 2016.[21]

In February 2016, SurveyMonkey began polling public opinion using the SurveyMonkey platform.[22] Poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight gives the poll a 'C' rating.[22]

In 2017, the company rolled out "SurveyMonkey Genius" which estimates survey performance and makes actionable suggestions to increase survey effectiveness.[23] In August, the company launched "SurveyMonkey CX" which assists organizations in managing their customer experience programs.[24]

On September 26, 2018, SurveyMonkey (SVMK) made its debut on the NASDAQ Exchange.[25] The stock launched at $12 per share and rose 43% on the first day of trading.[26]

Emory University Goizueta Business School dean Erika James joined the SurveyMonkey board of directors in 2018, creating Gender Parity on the company's board.[27][28]

Acquisitions

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The company has acquired three other survey tools: Precision Polling, Wufoo, and Zoomerang, as well as a 49.9 percent stake in the UK-based Clicktools.[29]

In August 2014, SurveyMonkey acquired Canadian company Fluidware, the creator of FluidSurveys.com and FluidReview.com.[30]

SurveyMonkey acquired TechValidate, a Canadian marketing content automation company in August 2015.[31]

By March 2019, SurveyMonkey acquired Usabilla, an Amsterdam-based website and app survey company, for $80 million in cash and stock.[32] That same year, SurveyMonkey acquired GetFeedback, a San Francisco-based customer experience management company, in August.[33]

Transition to Momentive and buyout offers

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Momentive logo

On June 9, 2021, SurveyMonkey announced its rebrand as Momentive, a new entity that encompasses experience management and corporate insights solutions across a suite of products. Momentive includes SurveyMonkey, GetFeedback, and Momentive Insights.[34][6]

On October 28, 2021, Zendesk announced that it had agreed to acquire MomentiveAI for about $4.1 billion, in an all-stock deal.[35] Chief executive Mikkel Svane of Zendesk said of the acquisition, "We have a big overlap in customers. It's incredibly powerful. And we believe that it will create a whole new, richer picture of your customers," according to Reuters.[36] Although shareholders of Momentive Global Inc. approved the deal, Zendesk's shareholders voted against the acquisition.[37] Subsequently the deal was terminated.[37]

In March 2023, a private equity consortium led by Symphony Technology Group agreed to acquire Momentive in an all-cash deal valued at $1.5 billion.[38] The acquisition was completed in June that year.[10]

After the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, SurveyMonkey used its own survey product to determine its employees' preferences as to their working arrangements. 84% voted for a flexible work policy, 81% wanted to work from home up to three days per week, and only 5% preferred to be back in the office all the time.[7] In September 2024, SurveyMonkey downsized its leased headquarters space from 120,000 feet in a Bay Meadows office building to 60,000 square feet in Franklin Templeton Investments's headquarters building.[7]

Survey Monkey has been plagued by numerous complaints from customers. In fact, it currently holds a 1.1 rating on Trust Pilot. Most of the complaints are due to its stringent policy on not providing refunds and its annual renewal clause that it imposes without any prior notification to the clients. This has led to a lot of disgruntled customers. 1.1 rating on Trust Pilot

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Scott, Martin (27 August 2012). "Customer research easier in digital era". USA Today. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  2. ^ "SurveyMonkey Office Locations". Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Momentive replaces CEO and changes name back to SurveyMonkey". 15 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "US SEC: Form 10-K Momentive Global, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 17 February 2023.
  5. ^ Vanian, Jonathan (9 June 2021). "SurveyMonkey changes its name as it expands beyond surveys". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "How to Use Online Tools for Customer Surveys". 15 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Martin, Asia (September 16, 2024). "SurveyMonkey talks new San Mateo office". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved November 21, 2024. This article incorrectly states that Franklin Templeton Investments' headquarters is located four miles away from Bay Meadows in downtown San Mateo; it is actually located only about a half mile east of Bay Meadows.
  8. ^ Boerner, Dean (15 March 2019). "Modern Workplaces: Inside SurveyMonkey's bananas office space in San Mateo". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  9. ^ Swant, Marty (9 June 2021). "SurveyMonkey Rebrands As Momentive To Fuel Its Growing Enterprise Business". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b Dorbian, Iris (1 June 2023). "STG-led investor group completes take-private $1.5bn acquisition of Momentive". PE Hub.
  11. ^ Swant, Marty (9 June 2021). "SurveyMonkey Rebrands As Momentive To Fuel Its Growing Enterprise Business". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  12. ^ Novet, Jordan (29 August 2018). "SurveyMonkey files to go public, lost $27 million on $121 million in sales in first half of 2018". CNBC. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  13. ^ "How to Use Online Tools for Customer Surveys". 15 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  14. ^ Equity, Spectrum (1 April 2009). "SurveyMonkey Receives Investment from Spectrum Equity". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  15. ^ Lynley, Matthew (3 November 2010). "SurveyMonkey bucks the trend, picks up $100M in debt financing". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  16. ^ "SurveyMonkey IPO". Fortune. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  17. ^ Konrad, Alex (18 November 2018). "SurveyMonkey Jumps Into Enterprise Market With New Product For Businesses". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  18. ^ Novet, Jordan (29 August 2018). "SurveyMonkey files to go public, lost $27 million on $121 million in sales in first half of 2018". CNBC. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  19. ^ Lorenzetti, Laura (15 December 2014). "SurveyMonkey is worth $2 billion after new $250 million fundraising round". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  20. ^ Hardy, Quentin (6 July 2015). "Sheryl Sandberg Joins SurveyMonkey's Board". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  21. ^ Zhang, Maggie (7 July 2015). "HP's Bill Veghte Joins SurveyMonkey As New CEO". Forbes. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  22. ^ a b Silver, Nate (2021-03-25). "Pollster Ratings - SurveyMonkey". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  23. ^ Live, Research (15 January 2016). "VEGHTE OUT AND LURIE IN AS SURVEYMONKEY CEO". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  24. ^ Del Rowe, Sam (17 July 2017). "SurveyMonkey Announces People Powered Data Platform". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  25. ^ "SurveyMonkey Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering". www.businesswire.com. 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  26. ^ Salinas, Sara (26 September 2018). "SurveyMonkey surges 42% in market debut, ends trading at $17 a share". CNBC. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  27. ^ Sonenshine, Jacob (26 September 2018). "Survey Monkey Pops 43% on IPO". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  28. ^ Mohan, Pavithra (14 August 2018). "SurveyMonkey's board is now 50% women". Fast Company. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  29. ^ Mandel, Eric (14 August 2018). "SurveyMonkey adds Emory Dean to Board of Directors". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  30. ^ Crunch, Tech (11 January 2011). "SurveyMonkey Acquires A 49.9 Percent Stake In Clicktools". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  31. ^ MacMillan, Douglas (5 August 2014). "SurveyMonkey Acquires Smaller Canadian Rival". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  32. ^ King, Rachel (4 August 2015). "SurveyMonkey bulking up B2B platform with TechValidate". ZDNet. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  33. ^ Miller, Ron (5 March 2019). "SurveyMonkey acquires web survey company Usabillla for $80M". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  34. ^ Vanian, Jonathan (9 June 2021). "SurveyMonkey changes its name as it expands beyond surveys". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Zendesk to Buy SurveyMonkey Parent Momentive Global". Bloomberg.com. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  36. ^ Hu, Krystal; Hussain, Noor Zainab (2021-10-28). "Software services firm Zendesk to buy SurveyMonkey parent for nearly $4 bln". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  37. ^ a b Jacob, Denny (2022-02-25). "Zendesk Terminates Deal With SurveyMonkey Parent". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  38. ^ Mathews, Eva (13 March 2023). "SurveyMonkey owner Momentive Global to be taken private in $1.5 bln deal". Reuters.
[edit]
  • Official website
    • Historical business data for Momentive Global Inc:
    • SEC filings
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