3-Year Growth: 271%
Getting tickets is generally not regarded as an enjoyable part of the event experience. If anything, consumers view ticketing services with no particular favour. But that’s something Lucas McCarthy, CEO of the Calgary-based ticketing company Showpass, wants to change. “We want the ticketing experience to be an extension of the experience artists and organizers work so hard to create,” he says.
To that end, presciently understanding that hidden fees do not a happy consumer make, Showpass embraced an all-in-one fee structure well before legislation to that effect was passed in the U.S. (Canada is planning a similar rule). And while major players tend to focus on concerts, Showpass wants to be the platform you interact with every week. From shows of big-name artists to your local museum (or corn maze, whatever floats your boat), Showpass’s technology was designed to accommodate virtually any event.
It’s paying off. Showpass is the largest independent ticketer in North America, and in the past three years, has doubled the size of its team—no small feat, given the pandemic. The result of that growth is supercharged innovation and product development. For instance, instead of forcing buyers to reach a merch quota before they can score a ticket to a popular concert, Showpass introduced more creative solutions—like giving access to users with the most Spotify listening hours for a given artist. Finally, a well-deserved reward for listening to the same album 200 times. /L.A.
