Spend Matters Nexus: Subscription stream now live!

Earlier this summer, I created a new role for myself at Spend Matters, going back to my roots as an adviser to investors, boards and management teams focused on strategy and corporate development topics.

As part of this transition, we’re excited to officially launch a new subscription service, Spend Matters Nexus, with content specifically written for founders, CEOs, corporate development leaders, and the private equity and investment community interested in the procurement landscape. We initially made this content stream available to all PRO subscribers as part of a transition period, but as of this month, Nexus will officially become an independent subscription.

Look for the first official Nexus column to post later today.

So what is Nexus specifically?

Nexus is aimed at those making strategy and investment decisions in the procurement, finance and B2B ecosystem and community — as well as those with an interest in how their companies may be scrutinized by others in raising capital or entering into an M&A process.

Nexus research and advisory centers on:

• Analysis of M&A and transactions in the procurement marketplace (and adjacent sectors)
• Procurement vendor valuation analysis/trends (acquisitions/buyouts, investments, etc.)
• For investors and acquirers, tips, guidance and analysis for all stages of market, company and deal flow analysis
• For CEOs and founders, best practices on prepping for an investment or sale of the business
• Strategy, corporate development, alliances and value engineering best practices

Beyond Nexus’ content and expert advisory, we’re also building out a broader membership program that includes networking and other components. For instance, next year we’ll have two members-only Nexus boardroom meetings (planned to coincide with two of our favorite industry events). More on this in early 2020.

Why Nexus?

Why launch a program like Nexus at all? The answers follow a simple logic flow that I’ve been thinking about for some time:

1. There’s a need

With a total addressable market (TAM) estimated by Coupa at more than $50 billion for procurement and related solutions, there are more dollars than ever looking to be optimally allocated to technology buyouts, investing and organic product development. Clearly, there’s a need for research and advisory aimed at helping achieve the greatest return on these dollars.

2. I’m excited about it

In terms of personal interest and skills, I was a strategy consultant and corporate development analyst long before launching Spend Matters. It’s what I’ve always been most passionate about at work. As Spend Matters has grown, we’ve been fortunate enough to bring in the best analysts to cover topics of interest to vendors, practitioners and consultants — especially those going through technology strategy and selection processes. Our core research and advisory is in outstanding hands.

3. Demand is rising

There has never been greater investor and M&A interest in this sector, nor as many innovative start-ups and tech firms looking to hit their metrics to achieve the next milestone in their funding growth.

4. We’re in a unique IP position

Spend Matters is uniquely positioned to cover and advise on these topics based on the incredible depth and data of our broader IP assets, including SolutionMap at the core.

5. The time is now

With the ability to capitalize on our richest SolutionMap dataset to date and leverage Spend Matters’ increasing global influence and reach, it simply made sense to press the go button.

What about PRO and SolutionMap Insider?

Fear not! PRO and SolutionMap Insider aren’t going anywhere, and nor will the volume or level of content written for them decrease.

We’ll be adding additional expert coverage to Spend Matters PRO, including a new high-profile contributor in the weeks to come. This latest voice to join our organization is a global research leader with deep expertise in advising procurement organizations on technology strategy and selection.

We will also continue to improve the quality and depth of SolutionMap Insider content as we build out our own internal data analyst team, which has been helping provide new quantitative insights to clients and subscribers in recent months.

Both PRO and SolutionMap Insider will continue to be aimed squarely at procurement organizations, the consultancies advising them and the vendor/provider universe (not to mention investors wanting to double-click on topics of interest). The primary difference between them is that PRO is analyst-driven and SolutionMap Insider content is data-driven.

In short:

• If you’re a current subscriber to PRO or SolutionMap Insider (or both), you can continue to expect the same frequency and depth of coverage, if not more.
• New expert voices will be added to the mix. (Stay tuned for some exciting news here!)
• Expect a new global perspective, especially increased coverage from a European standpoint.

What does the new content structure look like?

Click on this image to see the benefits of getting subscriptions to Nexus, Plus, PRO and Insider.

A $50 billion mission

Whether you’re a Nexus subscriber or not, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m passionate about trading ideas and believe that only together can we make this into the $50 billion market it can become.

Message me via LinkedIn or drop a line directly if we’re not connected: jbusch (at) azulpartners (dot) com

Jason Busch is the Managing Director of Spend Matters Nexus, a research and advisory organization serving technology acquirers (private equity, corporate development, etc.) and CEOs in the procurement and finance solutions marketplace (including contract management, B2B marketplaces/connectivity, indirect procurement, services procurement, direct procurement, commodity management, payment, trade financing, GRC/third-party management and related adjacent sectors). His profile and investment disclosures can be found on LinkedIn.