We build and grow businesses
around problems worth solving.
What If is an operator-led company that builds, runs, and scales software businesses and invests selectively where we have conviction.
We start with the problem, build the business, and own the outcome.
What We Do
We don't separate ideas from execution.
We build companies, operate them, and grow them with discipline. Investment and advisory follow from that experience — they are not the starting point.
Build
We identify real problems and turn them into software businesses from the ground up.
Operate
We stay close to the work: product, execution, and day-to-day decisions.
Scale
We grow businesses deliberately — refining the product, improving the systems, and building the team.
Invest
We invest selectively in companies we understand deeply and believe in completely.
Advise
We advise a small number of companies where we can move the needle, not just lend a name.
Projects
Businesses we build and operate.
We build businesses with conviction and operate them long-term. Each project is a real company — not a side experiment.
Lillipad
A new product in stealth.
Venture Three
Another company built around a real problem.
Portfolio
Companies we've backed and built within.
We invest selectively in businesses where we have strong conviction. These are not portfolio plays — they are bets on specific founders and products we believe in.
Prospect Markets
Shareholder & Head of Product
A next-generation sports prediction market platform built around real-time, transparent market mechanics. Ticker: MKT.
Lotly
Advisor & Investor
A home financing platform helping homeowners access flexible loan solutions — from home purchase to debt consolidation — through a modern, transparent process.
Level Access
Investor
The leading digital accessibility platform helping organizations build and maintain accessible products at scale — from automated testing to compliance.
How We Work
Most companies start with capital.
We start with the problem.
We identify opportunities through real-world friction — not abstract market maps or trend reports.
We build quickly, validate early, and commit where there is signal. We operate with ownership: product, execution, and outcomes are ours to manage.
We scale what works and cut what doesn't.
This is not a portfolio strategy.
It is a company-building discipline.
Find real friction
We work in industries where software is still genuinely broken. We look for operators solving real problems with the wrong tools.
Build with discipline
We move fast but deliberately. Product quality matters — it compounds over time.
Operate it
We stay inside the business — product decisions, execution, and day-to-day work.
Scale what works
Once signal is clear, we invest in growth: better systems, better product, better team.
Founder
Nicholas Hubert
Founder & CEO, What If Labs · Head of Product, Prospect Markets
Nicholas founded What If Labs to build and operate software businesses from the ground up, staying inside the work long after the first version ships.
A product leader and operator with over a decade of experience across complex, regulated industries, his work sits at the intersection of product, execution, and business strategy.
Founder & CEO
What If Labs
Also
Head of Product, Prospect Markets
Approach
Builds in the product, not above it.
Currently building