Openness → Observation → Opportunity → Outsized Returns
Alpha, Engineered by Experience.
WHERE EXPERIENCE BECOMES OUTPERFORMANCE
wait, what. is an investment management and advisory firm focused on long-term investment themes.
At wait, what., we unlock alpha and build enduring value by investing at the intersection of experience, opportunity, and capital. Through radical openness and deep observation, we identify overlooked signals - transforming unique opportunities into market-beating results for our investors. Our process ensures every asset is crafted to create, capture, and sustain advantage far beyond what spreadsheets alone can detect.
SPECIALITIES
Systemic Investments - Transition Capital - Asset Management - Impact Investments
WHY EXPERIENCE CREATES ALPHA
From Experience to Outperformance
- Openness: We embrace new perspectives, challenging convention and seeking insight into how, where, and why people engage with the real world.
- Observation: Using qualitative research, design thinking, and data analytics, we observe the nuances that drive demand, community, and loyalty - well before they hit the headlines.
- Opportunity: We originate and structure investments that harness these insights - turning placemaking, community, and user experience into prime drivers of premium, defensible value.
- Outsized Returns: Our experience-engineered approach produces superior risk-adjusted performance, underwritten by resilience, adaptability, and deep investor alignment.
“When you invest at the source of experience, you invest in the world’s most persistent alpha.”
TRUSTED BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
HOW WE WORK
Experience-Driven Investments
We specialize in Experience Investing, a human-centric, holistic approach that delivers "wow" effects and drives systems change.
Transition Capital Expertise
We navigate complex transitions with tailored capital solutions in investment management, private markets, and real estate.
Outsized Returns
Our unique strategy focuses on identifying and capitalizing on exponential growth opportunities that consistently outperform traditional benchmarks.
PLATFORM & PRODUCTS
- Thematic Funds:
- Direct & Co-Investment Solutions:
- Investor Platform:
Flagship vehicles like The Placemaking Investment Fund (the-pif.co), shaping next-generation urban, real asset, and sustainable investment opportunities across Europe.
Flexible structures for institutional LPs, family offices, pension funds, and sovereigns - delivering access to high-conviction, experience-driven deals.
A private destination for qualified partners, providing early access, data rooms, and curated opportunities.
WHY PARTNER
- Unprecedented Insight:
- Defensible Edge:
- Transparent Partnership:
We’re not just observers; we’re architects of demand, loyalty, and community - the true sources of enduring value.
Experience and emotion create moats that algorithms can’t cross, defending premium outcomes through connection, culture, and adaptability.
Radical openness is built into our DNA - from deal sourcing to narrative to reporting.