Zip Community Spotlight: Jonathan Jackson, Procurement Leader at APEX Fintech Solutions

APEX Fintech Solutions

About Jonathan: Jonathan joined the Zip Community after joining us at one of our Chicago meetups! He has already become one of the community’s most thoughtful voices. He brings wisdom, calm, and vibes. We’re big fans of him here at Zip.

What first led you into procurement? Did you find procurement, or did procurement find you? I had never even heard of procurement when I graduated college. I landed a job in Administrative Services at a large company, overseeing things like the mailroom. That’s where I first discovered a department called "Purchasing." After about a year and a half, I knew I wanted a change, and an opening for a buyer role came up. It covered everything from technology to MRO to vehicles, so it exposed me to a little bit of everything. From there, every company I joined realized I had "the most procurement experience," so I kept getting pulled into unofficial procurement work. That eventually led me into procurement full-time.

What is an interesting trend or challenge you are currently thinking through in your role? Right now, it feels like there’s a new procurement startup in my inbox every day. AI-native tools, early-stage companies, niche solutions... it’s endless. We started running a few POCs, then stopped because we realized we could get overwhelmed by POCs alone. So the challenge is figuring out how to evaluate all these new opportunities without drowning in them.

What is the best career advice you have ever received? Funny enough, I don’t remember getting much career advice early on. My parents were very "do whatever feels right," and I didn’t have many mentors. But now that my oldest son is thinking about his future, the advice I give is probably the best I’ve come across: You don’t need to have everything figured out at 21. You have time to make mistakes and change paths.

The closest direct advice I’ve gotten is this: the environment you work in, the coworkers around you, and the leader you report to matter more than the job description. Those things impact your life and wellbeing far more than we realize.

Outside of work, what is your hobby or passion that brings you joy? My wife and I actually met in college on a backpacking trip... and then never backpacked again. It was somehow the most boring class imaginable. But recently, we did a hike in the Grand Canyon with an organization focused on clean water. I didn’t take it too seriously at first, but the experience changed everything. Now I’ve got the hiking itch, and I want to plan trips all over the world.

What about the Zip community are you most excited to explore as it develops? The more AI takes over the conversation, the more I’m drawn to the human side of our work. I’m excited for real relationships with people who understand the challenges we’re all facing, even if our systems or processes differ. We’re approaching one year with Zip, and as we get ready to overhaul workflows and rethink our setup, I’m especially looking forward to learning from other Zip customers. Seeing what’s working for them will make a big difference for us.