?What If!

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.

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

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

• Innovation consulting services
• Corporate innovation strategy
• New product development
• Growth strategy consulting
• Design thinking advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ZX Ventures (AB InBev)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZX 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/whatifglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ?What If!