The Journey from Senior VP to Solopreneur

At SurveyMonkey, Verna moved from an entry-level analyst role to SVP over seven and a half years, expanding from analytics into product marketing and growth. She credits supportive managers and sponsors, and recommends seeking growth through mentorship, new responsibilities, and internal moves. Her analytics expertise remained her core strength as she added new skills.

After a poor-fit role following SurveyMonkey, Verna began advising as a way to test company fit before accepting another full-time job. Working across several businesses helped her distinguish broadly useful growth frameworks from tactics specific to one company. She converted recruiting inquiries into advisory contracts, then added interim operating roles when she wanted more direct accountability.

Verna uses LinkedIn content to share frameworks, learn from comments, and help potential clients understand her approach before they contact her. Free workshops help assess client fit, and even workshops that do not lead to paid work can generate referrals. She has also developed paid workshops and company presentations as additional revenue streams.

Verna says growth work should follow product-market fit and data readiness, and teams should scale with frameworks rather than one-off hacks. She recommends building cross-functional loops instead of relying on siloed funnels, and pursuing steady evolution rather than sudden revolution. Growth also depends on turning failed experiments into learnings that expose gaps between assumptions and customer reality.

Verna advises using employment as a learning opportunity while aiming for career optionality instead of a specific title. She recommends building a public profile early through speaking and writing, since that takes time to develop. Even broad operators need a clear specialty that distinguishes their work, and she treats impostor syndrome as a cue to prepare and learn.