Description
SVMK Inc., doing business as SurveyMonkey, is an online survey development cloud-based software as a service company. It was founded in 1999 by Ryan Finley and Chris Finley. The company provides surveys, and a suite of paid back-end programs.
The company went public in September 2018.
History
Founding
The company was owned by Ryan and Chris Finley until Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital acquired a majority interest in the company in 2009.
Dave Goldberg joined SurveyMonkey in 2009.
Expansion
In 2010, the company received US$100 million in debt financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
In 2013, the company raised $800 million in debt and equity valuing the company at $1.35 billion. In September 2013, the company announced HIPAA-compliant features for premium subscription holders. In November 2013, the company announced a new enterprise product with additional management capabilities.
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.
Dave Goldberg died in May 2015.
Zander Lurie was named chairman of the board in July 2015.
Starting August 3, 2015, Bill Veghte replaced Goldberg as SurveyMonkey CEO. Veghte held top posts at HP and Microsoft.[17] Veghte left the role after fewer than 6 months due to strategic differences with investors.[18] Veghte was replaced by Zander Lurie in January 2016.
In 2017, the company rolled out “SurveyMonkey Genius” which estimates survey performance and makes actionable suggestions to increase survey effectiveness. In August 2017, the company launched “SurveyMonkey CX” which assists organizations in managing their customer experience programs.
On September 26, 2018, SurveyMonkey (SVMK) made its debut on the NASDAQ Exchange. The stock launched at $12 per share and rose 43% on the first day of trading.
Emory University Goizueta Business School dean Erika James joined the SurveyMonkey board of directors in 2018, creating Gender Parity on the company's board.
Acquisitions
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. In August 2014, SurveyMonkey acquired Canadian company Fluidware, the creator of FluidSurveys.com and FluidReview.com. In August, 2015, SurveyMonkey acquired TechValidate, a marketing content automation company. In March 2019, SurveyMonkey acquired Usabilla, an Amsterdam-based website and app survey company, for $80 million in cash and stock. In August 2019, SurveyMonkey acquired GetFeedback, a San Francisco-based customer experience management company.
