NxtGen Nexus

NxtGen Nexus describes itself as the only dedicated destination providing tools, a voice and a community for the next generation of family business members. It is free to join for those who qualify, which makes it one of the most accessible entries in this directory.

Who joins

The definition of who belongs is broader and better thought through than most. It covers anyone with first-hand experience of being part of a family business: those working in the business, those deliberately not working in it, in-laws, and family office members.

Including the second and third of those is the notable part. Most next generation programmes are built for the heir being groomed to take over, which leaves out the sibling who chose a different career but still holds shares, and the in-law who married into a family enterprise and has to navigate it without having grown up in it. Both face real difficulties and neither is usually catered for.

How access works

Joining takes a short verification form covering basic information and whether you were referred by one of the network's trusted partners. The organisation reviews it and responds within 48 hours to complete the process.

Membership is free to qualifying family business next gens. The verification step is what makes a free community workable: it keeps out the advisers and vendors who would otherwise flood a group of young people with money and no established relationships.

The site does not name its leadership, and it operates a trusted advisor directory, so it presumably earns from referrals or from advisers rather than from members. Worth knowing when a recommendation appears.

What members get

NxtGen Connect is the core: a social platform restricted to verified family business members, where the conversations that are hard to have with family or employees can take place with peers.

Around it sit educational articles across eight subject areas covering wealth, lifestyle, family dynamics and growing the business; in-person and online events including regional meetups and the LMU Family Business Conference; a trusted advisor directory; and a resource hub covering family business centres, which are the university-based programmes that exist in many regions and are often unknown to the families who could use them.

The subjects are the non-financial ones: succession, passing wealth between generations, family dynamics, financial literacy, communicating values, and the constant overlap between personal and professional life in a family enterprise. Those are the problems that actually derail family businesses, and they get far less attention than portfolio construction.

For a rising family member testing whether a peer community helps, free and verified is close to the ideal way to find out.