Small Business Award winner spotlight: Showpass

As we all remember, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused restaurant closures and live events to come to a halt, the world faced a drastic change no one could have prepared for. Many businesses struggled and some had to close their doors. However, others were able to pivot their business model to meet the needs of the world where it was and stay afloat to see things shift back into normalcy. This was the case for Showpass, a Calgary-based ticketing agency that won the Air Canada Resilient Business of the Year Award at the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards.

Finding growth and resiliency in a community

Lucas McCarthy, Founder and CEO of Showpass did not choose to get into this industry out of a passion for selling tickets, but through a desire to help people find things to do. There was no exception to this during pandemic-related shutdowns, nor through the challenging economy that has followed. Now, the team at Showpass is motivated by the excitement of event organizers, event attendees and the communities they work with.

“We want our organizers to always be able to deliver a first-class experience to everyone on the Showpass platform,” says Lucas. “There is a tremendous amount of people in related industries that have a passion for the things that they’re doing. We help solve problems for these passionate people and they’ve given us a lot of information and support to help us continue every day. There are so many great causes that the Showpass platform supports and so many great communities that we get to be a part of which makes us more passionate about what we do.”

Lucas reflects on resiliency and how he helped navigate Showpass through a challenging time.

“I think resiliency is a person’s unwavering ability to brave the challenges that the world throws at them by coming up with grit and inner strength to push through and succeed,” he says. “I think there is a level of inspiration that occurs when people recognize difficulties already overcome by themselves or others—new standards are set to be met and surpassed.”

Having pushed their own standards, Showpass has not only bounced back, but has been able to hire many people and achieve new growth during 2023.

“We’ve had a tremendous hiring streak this year and we’re building out our 30,000-square-foot office that is dog-friendly with patios and balconies,” says Lucas. “I’m really excited about our movement and expansion into the United States and overseas markets, as well as our movement into professional sports and large-scale arenas, but I am mostly excited about our team. We have a very strong group of people that we can depend on for our next iteration of growth and for the next 4-5 years and more.”

While Lucas is excited about this growth, he is looking forward to Showpass being able to support the development of infrastructure in new markets to offer even more events.

“We’ll continue to focus on our growth with large event organizers and into arenas and stadiums. We are growing our strategic investment thesis to include those types of partners,” he says. “We’re also committed to funding a lot of content for our clients and doubling down on our success with clients over the past years. This means we will be investing in infrastructure so more events can happen in new markets and cities so more events can happen.”

“The long-term vision of the company is simple: we want to be the standard discovery platform for anyone who is looking for anything to do,” says Lucas. “Whether you’re looking for a movie ticket, a music festival or a curling event, we want offer this diverse range of things to do in the palm of your hand.”

Looking back to find motivation for the future

For now, Lucas says the team at Showpass is celebrating not just their win, but their nomination at the Calgary Small Business Awards.

“We were so excited that we had the opportunity to even be nominated in the category,” he says. “There were so many companies that had such a creative response to COVID and the restrictions that came with it. There was a lot of pent-up excitement about our ability to win and compete in that market. The recognition from Calgary’s business community and the judges was tremendous for us.”

“We love to be able to showcase this success to our team when we’ve been fighting and battling through such a difficult time,” says Lucas. “I think these are the types of things that make it a little bit easier to tough it out through the next challenges. We know that our community is there to support us and that our team is behind us. It was amazing to be there with the team and be recognized for the hard work we have put our blood, sweat and tears into.”

Lucas believes this kind of recognition is more than motivating to his team; it also provides them with perspective.

“The team now has an opportunity to look back at all of the effort we had to put in through COVID just to survive. This award is for the team and the folks who pushed us through, so it is a real badge of honour to be able to say the next time we are faced with another challenge, we know that we can get through it. There was a time where every individual on the team probably thought that this was a lost cause. Now we have this as a reminder to hope that it never gets that difficult again, but also that our community is there to support us through the trying times and it will all pay off in the end.”

Looking ahead, Lucas hopes for Showpass to be a key player in bringing more tourism, community engagement and entertainment to Calgary and beyond.

“As a company, we are very much pro-local. We work to engage with Calgary, Alberta and Canada, and want Showpass to be a catalyst in the local market in bringing in amazing new attractions and events, creating a large impact in tourism and travel,” says Lucas. “I want Calgary to be one of the most exciting places to live and work as far as entertainment and things to do. I want Showpass to be a huge part of making that happen over the coming years.”

See the full list of winners from the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards. For more information about Showpass, visit showpass.com.