Not According to Plan: Building Beyond the Business Plan
Thursday, Nov. 26 | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | $10 (towards supporting the Student Food Security Fund) | Showpass Headquarters (8500 Macleod Tr. S.E.)
Not According to Plan: Building Beyond the Business Plan brings together the Hunter Hub and UCalgary Alumni Built Business communities to share the real stories behind entrepreneurial and professional journeys, including the setbacks, pivots and unexpected opportunities along the way.
The evening is about connecting people at different stages of their journeys, from students and emerging entrepreneurs to alumni and established business leaders. Through honest storytelling, shared experiences and meaningful conversations, we want to create opportunities for people to learn from one another, build relationships and recognize the value they can bring to each other's journeys.
Hosted at Alumni Built Business Showpass, owned and operated by Lucas McCarthy, BComm'12, the evening will combine informal storytelling, opportunities to explore the space, food and drinks and plenty of time to connect.
Join like-minded aspiring and established business professionals, build a community of supporters and motivators and create connections that last beyond far beyond the evening.
Your registration fee supports the UCalgary Student Food Security Fund. The Campus Food Hub helps students access reliable, nutritious and affordable food, along with the skills to make the most of their food budget.
If the registration fee needs accommodation, please email hunterhubbookings@ucalgary.ca.
Lucas McCarthy, BComm'12
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Showpass
Lucas McCarthy is the founder and CEO of Showpass, one of North America’s fastest-growing event technology companies. Since launching Showpass in Calgary in 2014, he has grown the company to power more than 175 million tickets across 200,000+ events and 30,000+ event organizers.
Under his leadership, Showpass has earned recognition from Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 and the Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top Growing Companies list. Lucas also serves on the strategic advisory board for the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at UCalgary and was named one of Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40.
Tania Rizwan, BSc (Eng)’26
Co-founder, NeuraSense & NEXT36
Tania Rizwan is a biomedical engineer and founder working at the intersection of AI and health care. She co-founded NeuraSense, a paediatric stroke-monitoring platform that earned $30,000+ in awards and the 2025 Cannon-Lachapelle Award, then pivoted to co-found IRL-AI, a therapy-backed platform tackling technology addiction. She was one of 36 founders selected for NEXT Canada’s NEXT36 and went through YC Startup School in San Francisco this year.
Bill Robinson, BEd'98
President, Alberta Beer Festivals & Co-Founder, Tuesday Brewing Co.
Bill Robinson fell in love with the University of Calgary on a high school skiing road trip, enrolling the following year alongside his best friend from kindergarten. Raised overseas, he has explored more than 84 countries, but his love for Calgary has always drawn him back to this incredible city.
Alongside his work in the beverage industry, Bill also spent time as a teacher, an author and a journalist — a role where he got to do things like drink beers with Slash, fake-fight MMA Champ Frank Mir, and get made fun of by Gene Simmons.
A decent juggler who was once on Oprah and has a profound fear of zombies, Bill has been strip-searched in three countries and was once politely asked not to return to Cyprus for 10 years. Today, he is busy raising his two amazing kids.