SurveyMonkey
A cloud software platform for creating, distributing, and analyzing online surveys and forms.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
SurveyMonkey is a software-as-a-service brand focused on online surveys, forms, feedback collection, and experience-management tools. Its platform enables individuals, companies, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, government bodies, and nonprofit groups to design questionnaires, distribute them through multiple channels, collect responses, and analyze results. The business combines a freemium model for individual users with paid individual, team, enterprise, research, and application-management offerings. The company began in 1999 when Ryan Finley developed a simple online tool after finding it difficult to gather customer feedback using existing software. His brother Chris Finley later joined the business. SurveyMonkey initially grew without substantial outside funding and became known for making survey creation accessible to nontechnical users. In 2005, the company moved from its original base to Portland, Oregon, where it continued to expand its user base and infrastructure. A major transition occurred in 2009, when Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital acquired a majority interest. Dave Goldberg subsequently became chief executive and oversaw a period of rapid operational growth, product expansion, and institutional investment. During this era, SurveyMonkey added enterprise capabilities, launched mobile functionality, and acquired products including Wufoo and FluidReview, the latter becoming SurveyMonkey Apply. The company also introduced compliance and administrative features intended to support larger organizations and regulated use cases. After Goldberg's death in 2015, leadership passed through Bill Veghte and then Zander Lurie. Under Lurie, SurveyMonkey broadened its portfolio through acquisitions such as Usabilla, GetFeedback, TechValidate, and other survey and customer-experience technologies. The company also developed research and analytics capabilities, including automated guidance intended to improve questionnaire quality and response performance. SurveyMonkey completed an initial public offering on the Nasdaq in September 2018 under the ticker SVMK. In 2021, the public company rebranded itself as Momentive Global Inc. to signal a broader strategy around experience management and enterprise applications, while retaining SurveyMonkey as its principal survey product. A proposed all-stock acquisition by Zendesk was approved by Momentive shareholders but rejected by Zendesk shareholders, and the transaction was terminated. Symphony Technology Group acquired Momentive in 2023. Following the transaction, the company returned to the SurveyMonkey name and placed its portfolio under a more unified brand identity. Eric Johnson became chief executive. SurveyMonkey now offers survey and form creation, respondent-recruitment services, enterprise administration, application-management software, customer-feedback tools, templates, question libraries, logic, collaboration, dashboards, and AI-assisted creation and analysis. Its customers span more than 190 countries, with products supporting many languages and use cases ranging from market research and customer experience to employee engagement, education, grants, scholarships, and nonprofit programs.
History
SurveyMonkey was founded in 1999 by Ryan Finley, who later brought his brother Chris Finley into the business. The original idea was to provide a straightforward way for people and organizations to collect feedback online without building their own survey infrastructure. The company initially operated as a bootstrapped software business and benefited from the spread of web-based self-service applications. In 2005, the business relocated to Portland, Oregon, while continuing to operate its own technical infrastructure. In 2009, Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital acquired a majority stake. Dave Goldberg became chief executive and led the company through an important expansion phase. SurveyMonkey increased its employee base, introduced mobile and enterprise-oriented products, and broadened beyond its original questionnaire tool. Acquisitions included Wufoo, a form-building service, and FluidReview, an application-management platform later renamed SurveyMonkey Apply. The company also added features for larger organizations, including premium functionality designed for regulated environments and HIPAA-related use cases. SurveyMonkey raised substantial debt and equity during the private-company period and attracted investment from technology and institutional investors. It moved its headquarters from Portland to Palo Alto in 2013 and later established a larger headquarters in San Mateo. Goldberg died in 2015. Bill Veghte briefly served as chief executive later that year, but left after strategic disagreements with investors. Zander Lurie, who had served on the board, became chief executive in 2016. Under Lurie, the business developed into a broader customer-feedback and experience platform. It acquired or added technologies associated with website feedback, customer experience, marketing-content validation, polling, and survey creation, including Usabilla, GetFeedback, TechValidate, Precision Polling, Renzu, Zoomerang, and other assets. The company also expanded research services through SurveyMonkey Audience and introduced automated guidance features, including SurveyMonkey Genius, to help users design more effective questionnaires. SurveyMonkey went public on Nasdaq in September 2018 as SVMK. Its board during the public-company period included prominent figures from technology, business, media, and sports, and the appointment of Erika James was associated with gender parity on the board. After the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company used its own survey tools to study employee preferences concerning flexible and remote work. In 2021, the parent company rebranded as Momentive Global Inc. The change was intended to represent a portfolio broader than the SurveyMonkey product, including experience-management and enterprise applications. SurveyMonkey remained the consumer-facing and core survey platform. Zendesk announced an agreement to acquire Momentive in October 2021, but the proposed all-stock transaction did not receive the necessary support from Zendesk shareholders and was terminated. In 2023, Symphony Technology Group led an acquisition of Momentive. The company subsequently returned to the SurveyMonkey name, with Eric Johnson appointed chief executive. The current portfolio centers on survey and form creation, respondent recruitment, application management, customer feedback, enterprise controls, analytics, and AI-assisted workflows. The brand serves commercial and institutional users globally, including businesses, schools, healthcare organizations, governments, startups, and nonprofit groups.
- 2023
Acquisition by Symphony Technology Group
[1]Momentive was acquired by an investor group led by Symphony Technology Group and became privately held.
- 2023
Return to SurveyMonkey identity
[1]The company restored SurveyMonkey as its corporate and portfolio brand.
- 2021
Rebrand to Momentive
[1]The corporate parent adopted the Momentive name while retaining SurveyMonkey as its core survey product.
- 2018
Nasdaq listing
[1]SurveyMonkey completed its initial public offering and began trading under SVMK.
- 2017
SurveyMonkey Genius introduced
[1]The company introduced automated recommendations intended to improve survey design and expected performance.
- 2015
Post-Goldberg leadership change
[1]Following Dave Goldberg's death, Bill Veghte briefly became CEO before Zander Lurie assumed the role in 2016.
- 2013
Headquarters moves to Palo Alto
[1]SurveyMonkey relocated its headquarters from Portland to Palo Alto.
- 2009
Private-equity investment and leadership transition
[1]Spectrum Equity and Bain Capital acquired a majority stake, and Dave Goldberg became chief executive.
- 2005
Relocation to Portland
[1]The company moved to Portland, Oregon, during its early growth period.
- 1999
SurveyMonkey is founded
[1]Ryan Finley founded SurveyMonkey to simplify online customer-feedback collection; Chris Finley later joined as a co-founder.
Products and positioning
An accessible, scalable survey and feedback platform serving individuals, teams, enterprises, researchers, educators, government organizations, and nonprofits.
Survey and form software · 1999
SurveyMonkey
The core platform lets users create surveys and forms with templates, question libraries, multiple question types, branching and skip logic, custom branding, collaboration tools, distribution options, and real-time results. It is used for market research, customer feedback, employee engagement, education, event feedback, and nonprofit or public-sector data collection.
Market research
SurveyMonkey Audience
SurveyMonkey Audience helps researchers recruit respondents for surveys and market-research projects. It is designed for users who need access to a defined panel rather than relying only on their own customer, employee, student, or community contacts.
Enterprise software
SurveyMonkey Enterprise
The enterprise offering provides organization-wide survey and feedback capabilities with centralized administration, collaboration, reporting, security, governance, and support features. It is intended for larger companies and institutions that need consistent controls across multiple teams and research programs.
Application management
SurveyMonkey Apply
SurveyMonkey Apply is an application-management product for programs such as grants, scholarships, awards, fellowships, and admissions. It supports application intake, review workflows, communications, evaluation, and administration for organizations handling structured submissions.
Customer experience
GetFeedback
GetFeedback is a customer-feedback and experience product acquired as part of SurveyMonkey's expansion beyond general-purpose surveys. It supports the collection and use of customer insights across interaction points and is positioned toward organizations managing ongoing customer-experience programs.
Online forms
Wufoo
Wufoo is an online form-building service acquired by SurveyMonkey. It focuses on creating web forms for data collection and workflow use cases, extending the company's reach beyond conventional questionnaires.
Artificial intelligence · 2025
SurveyMonkey AI
SurveyMonkey AI is the newer identity for the company's AI-assisted survey capabilities. These tools support tasks such as generating questions, improving survey structure, estimating effectiveness, and assisting with analysis. They build on earlier features marketed as SurveyMonkey Genius.
Marketing campaigns
- SurveyMonkey Research and Insights
Global
SurveyMonkey publishes and supports research on workplace culture, employee sentiment, customer experience, marketing, gender and generational differences, and small-business conditions. It has collaborated with media and research organizations to turn survey data into public insights.
Outcome. Expanded the brand's role from survey software provider to research and insights publisher.
- SurveyMonkey Contribute
Global
Survey respondents can participate in panel activity and direct associated charitable benefits toward selected nonprofit organizations. Mentioned participating organizations have included Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, and the Humane Society of the United States.
Outcome. Linked respondent recruitment with charitable giving and panel participation.
Brand decisions
2023
Sell the company to Symphony Technology GroupM&ABackground
After the unsuccessful Zendesk transaction, Momentive pursued a private ownership transition.
Action taken
An investor group led by Symphony Technology Group acquired Momentive.
Aftermath
The company became privately held, returned to the SurveyMonkey name, and appointed Eric Johnson as chief executive.
2021
Adopt the Momentive corporate brandStrategyBackground
The company had expanded from a single survey product into customer-experience, enterprise, and application-management software.
Action taken
It renamed the parent company Momentive Global Inc. while continuing to market the main survey platform as SurveyMonkey.
Aftermath
The change separated the corporate identity from the best-known product brand, but the company later reversed the strategy after its 2023 acquisition.
2021
Agree to a proposed Zendesk acquisitionM&ABackground
Zendesk and Momentive identified overlap between their customer bases and saw an opportunity to combine customer-feedback and experience-management capabilities.
Action taken
Momentive entered an all-stock acquisition agreement with Zendesk.
Aftermath
Momentive shareholders approved the agreement, but Zendesk shareholders rejected it. The transaction was subsequently terminated.
- Zendesk — Zendesk shareholders voted against the proposed combination, preventing completion.
2017
Introduce SurveyMonkey GeniusProduct launchBackground
Users needed help creating effective questionnaires and interpreting survey-design choices.
Action taken
SurveyMonkey launched automated recommendations that estimated survey performance and suggested improvements.
Aftermath
The capabilities were expanded over time and later presented under the SurveyMonkey AI name.
Recent events
- 2023
Symphony Technology Group acquires Momentive[1]
M&A
An investor group led by Symphony Technology Group acquired Momentive, taking the company private.
- 2023
Company returns to the SurveyMonkey brand[1]
Other
Following the acquisition, the business returned to the SurveyMonkey name and consolidated its portfolio identity around the best-known product brand.
- 2022
Zendesk acquisition agreement is terminated[1]
M&A
A proposed combination between Zendesk and Momentive ended after Zendesk shareholders voted against the transaction.
- 2021
SurveyMonkey parent adopts the Momentive name[1]
Other
The parent company changed its corporate identity to Momentive while continuing to use SurveyMonkey for its core survey platform.
- 2018
SurveyMonkey completes Nasdaq initial public offering[1]
Other
SurveyMonkey became a publicly traded company on Nasdaq under the ticker SVMK.
Sources6 sources
- 1SurveyMonkeyen.wikipedia.org
- 2SurveyMonkey official websitesurveymonkey.com
- 3J.D. Power Launches Real-Time Auto Insurance Customer Loyalty Tracking Capabilitytheautochannel.com
- 4Operation HOPE Launches Minority Small Business Index in Collaboration with SurveyMonkey 79% of Black aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners find the odds stacked against them in building their businesses, saying they are much less likely to succeed compared with white entrepreneursfinancialpost.com
- 5Parity.org Launches ParityPledge in Support of People of Colorprnewswire.com
- 6SurveyMonkey Announces Availability of GetFeedback’s Integration with Salesforce Commerce Cloudfinance.yahoo.com
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