Another stellar homegrown #yyctech story! The candid dialogue with Lucas McCarthy and Paul O'Donoghue left everyone impressed and inspired to think bigger - an incredible founder's journey to implementing creative solutions during challenging times. Despite raising less than $5M, they are now on track to have a gross volume of $500M by 2025. Showpass tells an impressive story of a growing company that is changing Calgary's narrative to tech by successfully offering a much-needed alternative ticketing platform. It’s amazing to have such visionary minds in our city demonstrating what intergenerational leadership can achieve.
Joe and Lucas emphasized the importance of team dynamics and corporate culture, highlighting their crucial role in navigating tough times like the pandemic. Having a constructive and collaborative mentorship was instrumental to Showpass' success. It enabled them to adopt a more innovative approach. They sustained the business by organizing events for hotel concerts (a novel concept during COVID) and corn mazes (one of the few available activities at the time). The company proudly kept all of their employees despite the scarcity of events, a remarkable achievement for an event ticketing platform during the pandemic - no doubt underscoring the value of taking care of your own people.
Overall, they both shared that knowing your business inside and out combined with a long-term vision can help you shine in the market. Interestingly, they also shared the unique struggle faced by a homegrown tech company, as Calgary-based companies have the tendency to doubt their effectiveness because they are local. This revelation took the room by surprise and sparked a collective mission to support and promote our local tech companies.
It was definitely an enlightening and inspiring evening. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success. and we feel honoured to be able to showcase another inspiring company that truly deserves the spotlight. We can't wait to see you at our next Wine Wednesday!
Visit Showpass to learn more about this amazing company.
Thank you to the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund for supporting this event.
Photos taken by Jill Thompson Photography