?What If!
?What If! Innovation is a London-founded, privately held B2B innovation consultancy that helps large enterprises invent new products, brands, and business models and build internal innovation capabilities, serving Fortune-tier clients globally from six offices.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ?What If! does
?What If! Innovation is a privately held B2B innovation consultancy founded in 1992 in London by Matt Kingdon and Dave Allan. The firm helps large enterprises develop new products, brands, and business models, and build in-house innovation capabilities, operating across two core service lines: Building Growth Futures (creating the vision, products, services, brands, and new businesses that drive growth) and Leading Growth Cultures (transforming leadership, culture, and capabilities to make organizations future-ready). Its work is delivered through bespoke consulting engagements anchored on proprietary methodologies including design thinking, lean startup principles, behavioral experimentation, and a packaged framework called Experiment Engines that structures the journey from problem identification through prototyping.
Underlying the service is a consulting playbook rather than a software platform: tools and coaching frameworks are applied by ?What If! teams inside client organizations, often through accelerator-style sprints, capability-building programs, and culture transformations. Documented outcomes include training approximately 100,000 Pfizer employees globally, guiding 16 AB InBev accelerator teams through an 11-week program, helping Steinway launch the Spirio player piano (its first major product in 70 years), introducing Kenco's Millicano wholebean instant coffee (nearly one million packs sold within four weeks of launch), and supporting BP's Invigorate fuel additive launch across 10,000 U.S. stations.
The firm monetizes through professional services engagements (project-based and retainer arrangements with enterprise clients) and is sales-led, relying on case studies, thought leadership content, and referrals rather than a software GTM motion. It operates from six offices spanning London (global HQ), New York and Chicago (Americas), Amsterdam (Europe), and Shanghai and Singapore (Asia), serving large multinationals across beverages, food, consumer goods, energy, pharmaceuticals, and non-profit sectors. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or parent-company relationships are disclosed.
?What If! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ?What If!
- Legal name
- What If Holdings Limited
- Website
- https://whatifinnovation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- ?What If! Innovation is a London-founded, privately held B2B innovation consultancy that helps large enterprises invent new products, brands, and business models and build internal innovation capabilities, serving Fortune-tier clients globally from six offices.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
?What If! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Innovation Consulting
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD), Innovation Leadership & Leading Growth (EDABAAAO), Product Strategy & Discovery (Vision, Roadmapping, OKRs) (EDABAHAD), Corporate & Leadership Development (BPACANAA)
Keywords
Where ?What If! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
?What If! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Innovation Consulting Services: B2B consulting engagements with enterprises on strategic innovation initiatives, including growth futures development, culture transformation, and leadership development. Revenue is generated through professional services engagements with large organizations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
?What If! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
?What If! is an innovation consultancy that helps large organizations create growth futures — new vision, products, services, brands and businesses — and lead growth cultures by transforming leadership, capabilities and ways of working. Engagements use proprietary experimentation and design-thinking methodologies (including the Experiment Engines framework) to take teams rapidly from problem identification to prototype, and to train client employees in innovation behaviours and tools.
Product overview
?What If! Innovation is an innovation consultancy offering professional services rather than a software product company. The company provides two primary service offerings: Building Growth Futures (creating vision, products, services, brands, and new businesses that drive growth) and Leading Growth Cultures (transforming leadership, culture, and capabilities for future readiness). The company also develops proprietary tools and methodologies such as Experiment Engines, which helps organizations use experimentation throughout the innovation process. Their work is delivered through client engagements and case studies across various industries including consumer goods, food & beverage, automotive, healthcare, and non-profit sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Innovation Consulting Services End-to-end innovation consulting engagement that helps large organizations drive growth by asking 'what if' questions and building growth futures (new vision, products, services, brands, and businesses) and leading growth cultures (leadership, culture, and capabilities). Sold to enterprise clients across consumer goods, food and beverage, energy, pharmaceutical, and non-profit sectors.
- Building Growth Futures
Quantifiable outcome
- AB InBev: Guided 16 accelerator teams through 11-week program resulting in multiple ventures being funded for further development, with over 50 employees gaining new skills.
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use ?What If!
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
?What If! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
?What If! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ZX Ventures (AB InBev)coreZX Ventures, the global innovation incubator backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev, partnered with ?What If! to guide 16 accelerator teams through an 11-week entrepreneurial journey. ?What If! offered proprietary tools and coaching to help each team generate ideas, design and execute experiments and build prototypes, helping them rapidly iterate from problem to prototype.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
?What If! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- frog (Capgemini Engineering): frog is a design and innovation consultancy now part of Capgemini Engineering that helps global brands invent and launch new products and experiences. Its design-strategy integration model and enterprise client base make it a close comparable to ?What If!.
- IDEO: IDEO is the archetypal innovation design consultancy, helping enterprises develop new products, services, and brands through human-centered design. It directly parallels ?What If!'s B2B innovation consulting model and brand-driven differentiation.
- Innosight (Huron Consulting): Innosight, founded by Clayton Christensen, specializes in innovation strategy, growth transformation, and disruptive innovation for enterprises. It directly overlaps with ?What If!'s innovation consulting offering and Fortune 500 client base.
- SYPartners: SYPartners is a leadership and innovation consultancy that works with executives on culture, transformation, and growth. Its blend of innovation strategy and culture change closely resembles ?What If!'s 'Leading Growth Cultures' offering.
- Strategyn: Strategyn is an innovation consulting firm built around Clayton Christensen's jobs-to-be-done methodology, helping companies develop new products and growth strategies. Its outcome-driven innovation approach directly mirrors ?What If!'s methodology-led consulting model.
- Smart Design: Smart Design is a global design and innovation consultancy that helps enterprises invent products and brand experiences. Its enterprise-focused innovation work and cross-vertical case portfolio parallel ?What If!'s service offering.
Broad incumbents
- McKinsey & Company: McKinsey's Strategy & Corporate Finance practice includes dedicated growth and innovation services that overlap with ?What If!'s enterprise innovation work. Its global scale and enterprise relationships represent both competitive threat and a credible adjacent comparator.
- BCG (Boston Consulting Group): BCG operates dedicated Innovation and Growth practices (including BCG Platinion and GAMMA) serving large enterprises on innovation strategy and execution. Its broad portfolio overlaps with ?What If!'s enterprise innovation consulting work.
- Doblin (Deloitte): Doblin is Deloitte's dedicated innovation practice, helping enterprises with innovation strategy and execution. As a Big Four-embedded innovation consultancy, it competes with ?What If! for enterprise innovation mandates while leveraging Deloitte's global scale.
Emerging players
- Pentagram: Pentagram is a design firm that partners with enterprises on brand, product, and digital innovation. While more design-led than consulting-led, its work on growth-stage enterprise innovation initiatives overlaps thematically with ?What If!'s brand and product innovation engagements.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
?What If! social profiles
Digital presence?What If! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
?What If! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
?What If! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
?What If! M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ?What If!
What does ?What If! do?
?What If! is an innovation consultancy that helps large organizations create growth futures — new vision, products, services, brands and businesses — and lead growth cultures by transforming leadership, capabilities and ways of working. Engagements use proprietary experimentation and design-thinking methodologies (including the Experiment Engines framework) to take teams rapidly from problem identification to prototype, and to train client employees in innovation behaviours and tools.
Is ?What If! a public or private company?
?What If! is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ?What If! founded?
?What If! was founded in 1992.
Where is ?What If! based?
?What If! is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ?What If! make money?
One revenue line is on record: innovation Consulting Services.
Who are ?What If!'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are frog (Capgemini Engineering), IDEO, Innosight (Huron Consulting), SYPartners, Strategyn and Smart Design. Broad incumbents are McKinsey & Company, BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and Doblin (Deloitte). Pentagram is listed as an emerging player.
Does ?What If! have an API?
No public API is recorded for ?What If!.
What industry is ?What If! in?
?What If!'s product category is Innovation Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHACAM, Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAHACAD, Organization Design & Change Management Consulting. Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.