Lucas McCarthy, 26, works in Calgary, Alberta, as chief executive officer at Showpass. As a 2018 40 Under 40 honoree, McCarthy discusses his passion for the events industry.
*Connect with McCarthy on Twitter and Instagram.
What I do: I originally founded Showpass as GetQd in 2014, coding, designing, marketing, and selling on my own until the business grew big enough to start building an amazing team. I’m still passionately involved in the business and I continue to actively play a key part in all initiatives that include: development, branding, business development, corporate leadership and sales.
How I got here: I took an unpaid internship at a restaurant that also had a nightclub as a part of their business. Working closely with the management there I got to see the inner workings of the business and how slim the margins were–but also how important customer service was. As I graduated through the ranks and got to work with more and more people, I got to pitch ideas to the organization on how to improve the business and, ultimately, help them become thought leaders in managing events and shows. I wanted to give myself the ability to carve out my own little section in the entertainment industry.
Greatest career accomplishment: I am most proud of the team I have assembled here at Showpass. It’s not often you find this many amazing, talented people. It’s even harder to convince them to work with you when you have no money and a short-track record.
Impressive stats: The sales that I have booked with Showpass represent millions of tickets per year. I am most excited about setting attendance records when the seller network I helped build gets put into place for events.
Specific improvement I’ve made: With the universal Showpass barcode, when event managers sell or book tickets or merchandise, or sessions within an event, it all sits under one barcode for each attendee. Those attendees just show that barcode in print or on their phones, and we have effectively streamlined the process for both event managers and participants. We also recently implemented a very exclusive partnership with Facebook, so your events can be booked right within Facebook and the attendee can access his barcode from the app, anytime.
What I’m working on now: Augmented reality. The stuff that dreams are made of! We’re going to be taking it commercial at some point this year and showing the world how profound AR is going to be.
What I do outside of work: Most recently, I spent a lot of my time mastering gardening and lawn care. I look forward to learning how to grow some fresh herbs and veggies.
