Questback - Comprehensive Analysis Report

Summary

Questback, a prominent European software-as-a-service (SaaS) company founded in 2000 in Oslo, Norway, specializes in experience management solutions. Its core mission is to empower organizations by enabling them to capture and act on feedback from employees, customers, and the market. The company operates with the vision that "people matter and are able to provide the insights necessary to drive business success." As a Nordic leader, Questback serves a global customer base, providing web-based survey platforms that transform organizations through strategic feedback, driving innovation and excellence in employee and customer experiences.

1. Strategic Focus & Objectives

Core Objectives

Questback's main business objectives revolve around empowering organizations to create more engaging workplaces, superior products, and robust services. This is achieved by enabling them to act on insights derived from continuous feedback. The company's short-term and long-term goals are focused on delivering high-value solutions that facilitate meaningful dialogue across the entire engagement lifecycle.

Specialization Areas

Questback specializes in gathering data and providing invaluable insights within the Employee & Customer Survey Experience domain. Its proprietary platform is designed to capture ad-hoc, scheduled, process-based, and on-demand feedback. The unique value proposition lies in delivering solutions purpose-built to help organizations make intelligent, data-driven decisions that go beyond mere operational data.

Target Markets

The primary market segments for Questback are enterprises globally. The company has a significant presence and a strong customer base across the Nordic region, particularly in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Its market positioning strategy emphasizes providing adaptable and scalable feedback solutions for any organization, regardless of industry, size, or geographical reach.

2. Financial Overview

Funding History

Questback has raised a total funding amount, reported as $43.8 million by PitchBook and $18.7 million over 3 rounds by Tracxn. Its first funding round occurred on August 14, 2015. The latest funding event was a Series C round on July 25, 2019, for an undisclosed amount, with Ipsos serving as a lead investor. Other notable institutional investors include First Fellow, First Fellow Partners, and Reiten & Co. These funds have been utilized to support technological development, market expansion, and overall company growth.

In August 2021, Questback was listed as a public company on Euronext Growth in Oslo. However, the company transitioned back to private ownership after being acquired by Precise Credit Solutions on December 6, 2023, and now operates as a subsidiary.

Revenue for 2021 was NOK 124.1 million, a decrease from NOK 141.2 million in 2020. Sales from its core business in 2021 amounted to NOK 97.4 million, compared to NOK 99.0 million in 2020. The company operates on a subscription-based business model, recognizing revenue over a 12-month period.

3. Product Pipeline

Key Products/Services

Questback's core offering is its proprietary web-based platform for Employee & Customer Survey Experience.

Platform Description: A sophisticated, person-based system designed to collect, analyze, and act on feedback from various stakeholders. It aims to eliminate traditional paper-based survey methods.
Development Stage: The platform undergoes continuous innovation, with ongoing enhancements to maintain and boost its efficiency, performance, and reliability. Recent "under-the-hood enhancements" were implemented with releases in October 2024 and September 2024.
Target Market/Condition: Enterprises globally requiring robust solutions for employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and market research.
Key Features and Benefits:
Real-time analytics: For measuring satisfaction and analyzing communication patterns within projects or departments.
Robust data segmentation: Enables analysis of demographic information and understanding behavioral drivers within specific populations.
Purpose-built solutions: Designed to provide actionable insights for intelligent decision-making.
User-friendly interface: Offers ready-to-go solutions for ease of use.
Scalability: Adaptable to meet the feedback needs of any organization regardless of industry, size, or geographical reach.
Input from Webinars: Webinar topics and discussions serve as a feedback loop, directly influencing the product roadmap, website content, and upcoming webinar topics.

4. Technology & Innovation

Technology Stack

Questback's platform is built as a sophisticated, person-based system. Its core technological capabilities include:
Real-time analytics: For immediate measurement of satisfaction and analysis of communication.
Data segmentation features: Enabling detailed analysis of demographic information and behavioral drivers.
Integration with AI and ML: Focus on streamlining data analysis, generating actionable insights at scale, and incorporating predictive analytics.

Proprietary Developments

Questback emphasizes continuous "under-the-hood enhancements" to its platform, ensuring efficiency, performance, and reliability. While specific patent details for individual technologies are not publicly detailed beyond general intellectual property, the company's innovation efforts are directed towards:
Advanced Analytics: Leveraging AI/ML for automated data analysis and predictive modeling.
Security and Compliance: Operating with 100% GDPR compliance, adhering to strict IT and data security standards. Data storage is exclusively in ISO-certified, high-performance data centers located in Germany.
Robust Security Measures:
Regular penetration testing by independent cybersecurity companies.
Best-practice setup for security, performance, and redundancy.
Secure data access via personal VPN with two-factor authentication (2FA).
SSL encryption for all external resources.
Audit logs for administrator activities.
Volume encryption on all data volumes, with encryption keys stored in FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified Hardware Security Modules (HSM).
Database encryption with Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) using AES256 master keys.

Scientific Methodologies

The company’s approach is rooted in gathering comprehensive data and employing analytical methodologies to transform raw feedback into invaluable, actionable insights. This involves understanding survey design principles, data interpretation, and stakeholder behavior analysis to facilitate intelligent decision-making.

5. Leadership & Management

Executive Team

Saeid Mirzaie (CEO - Global): Appointed CEO in August 2020. Saeid previously founded and served as Executive Chairman of Surespace. He held significant roles at Netigate, including SVP of Marketing, Sales, Product, and Deputy CEO before becoming CEO. His background also includes COO at Rehact and various positions at Jetpak Group AB, and Head of Nordics for OptimalPrint at Gelato. He holds an M.Sc. in Business and Economics from Lund University.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saeidmirzaie/
Sakarias Fasth (Chief Business Development Officer): Joined Questback in September 2021. With over a decade of industry experience, he previously held roles at Netigate as Head of Business Development, Business Development Manager, Head of Product, and Lead Analyst. He holds an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linköping University.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sakariasfasth/
Bror Elving (CRO - Global): Leads the Customer Success Managers, Support Technicians, and Professional Services teams. His experience spans hardware, re-selling, and distribution. He describes Questback's culture as fast-paced, hardworking, and focused on empowering employees and customers.
Astrid van den Brink Erlandsson (Chief Customer Officer / Vice President of Professional Services): Joined in August 2022 as VP of Professional Services, now Chief Customer Officer. An expert in Employee Experience (EX) and Customer Experience (CX) feedback management. Her previous roles include Chief Services Officer at Netigate, CRM Project Manager at Polarn O. Pyret, and various consultancy and analyst roles at Effectory International, TNS-Sifo, H&M, GfK, and Universum. She holds M.Sc. degrees from the University of Groningen and Paderborn University.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astridvandenbrink/
Aleksander Utby Tønnessen (CFO): Serves as the Chief Financial Officer.
Adnan Spahic (Chief Technology Officer): Identified as the current Chief Technology Officer.

Recent Leadership Changes

Saeid Mirzaie was appointed CEO in August 2020, strengthening Questback's European leadership.
Sakarias Fasth joined as Chief Business Development Officer in September 2021.
Astrid van den Brink Erlandsson started as Vice President of Professional Services in August 2022 and currently serves as Chief Customer Officer.
Adnan Spahic is the current Chief Technology Officer, following Radu Immenroth's appointment in October 2017, who replaced Oliver Trabert.

6. Talent and Growth Indicators

Hiring Trends and Workforce

As of December 31, 2022, Questback had a workforce of 56 employees. The company demonstrated significant growth ambitions in previous years, hiring 25 new employees in 2021 and projecting further additions in 2022. A new sales team was established in 2021, growing from 0 to 10 talents. Current job openings are highlighted on the company's career site, indicating ongoing recruitment for key roles to support continued expansion.

Company Growth Trajectory Indicators

Questback's growth is indicated by its previous hiring surges and the establishment of new teams, such as the sales team. The strategic vision under new ownership by Precise Credit Solutions suggests continued focus on organic growth and potential future acquisitions within the industry.

Employee Sentiment and Culture Insights

Executive leadership describes Questback as a fast-paced, hardworking, and self-empowering environment, strongly focused on supporting customers and employees in creating better working conditions and products.

7. Social Media Presence and Engagement

Digital Footprint

Questback maintains an active and strategic social media presence, primarily on professional platforms like LinkedIn, as well as on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

Brand Messaging and Positioning

The company uses social media to promote its "Employee & Customer Survey Experience" solutions, reinforce its thought leadership in experience management, and share company news and updates. Its messaging emphasizes empowering organizations through actionable insights derived from feedback.

Community Engagement Strategies

Questback actively engages its audience by hosting webinars, which not only provide valuable content but also serve as a feedback loop. This direct engagement informs the company's product roadmap, website content, and future webinar topics. Examples include webinars on "Rethinking Employee Engagement."

Thought Leadership Initiatives

Through its webinars and content sharing, Questback positions itself as a thought leader in the experience management space, offering insights and best practices for leveraging feedback to drive business success.

8. Recognition and Awards

Industry Recognition

In February 2024, Questback was recognized with the "Best Value Badge" from Capterra for its Customer Satisfaction software. This accolade was based on verified reviewer feedback, with the product achieving an impressive overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 on Capterra.

9. Competitive Analysis

Major Competitors

Questback operates within the highly competitive Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) and broader experience management software market. Key competitors include:

Qualtrics: A leading player with a dominant market share (61.18%) in User Feedback Management. Possesses over 25,602 customers in this segment. Offers comprehensive experience management solutions.
SurveyMonkey: Well-known for its user-friendly survey tools, catering to a wide range of users from individuals to large enterprises.
Typeform: Differentiated by its innovative and interactive form and survey design, focusing on engaging user experiences.
QuestionPro: Provides a range of survey tools and research software, including advanced analytics and enterprise-level features.
Lucid Holdings, Fuel Cycle, Confirmit: Other established players offering robust feedback and research platforms, often targeting enterprise clients with complex needs.
WorkTango, Perceptyx: Primarily focused on employee experience and engagement platforms, offering solutions for continuous feedback and insights.
getWizer: Specializes in agile market research and consumer insights platforms.

Questback holds a 1.68% market share in the User Feedback Management segment, ranking 9th, with approximately 702 customers. Its competitive positioning relies on its extensive experience, strong emphasis on data security (GDPR compliance, European data centers), premium support, and focus on delivering actionable insights.

10. Market Analysis

Market Overview

The market for experience management solutions, encompassing employee and customer feedback, is dynamic and experiencing significant growth. Organizations increasingly recognize the strategic importance of capturing comprehensive feedback to inform business decisions.

Growth Potential

The growth potential is driven by the escalating demand for real-time feedback mechanisms that enable quicker, data-driven decision-making. The shift from annual surveys to continuous feedback loops, particularly in employee engagement, represents a substantial opportunity.

Key Market Trends

Real-time Feedback: A strong emphasis on solutions that provide immediate insights.
* AI and Machine Learning Integration: Growing adoption of AI/ML for streamlined data analysis, automated insight generation at scale, and predictive analytics to proactively identify potential issues