Passage

Established in 2014 and headquartered in Detroit, Passage has carved out a significant niche in the event ticketing and payments sector by focusing on the needs of small to midsize event organizers. The company was founded by CEO Alex Linebrink, a serial entrepreneur with a background in payment technology, and CTO Patrick Misch, a full-stack software developer. Linebrink's prior experience leading Core Merchant, a payment technology firm he sold in 2014, provided foundational insights into the payment industry's complexities. His passion for niche events, stemming from a childhood of building elaborate haunted houses for his father's Halloween birthdays, informed the company's strategy of catering to underserved event categories.

Passage provides an all-in-one mobile box office platform that empowers event creators to manage sales for tickets, merchandise, and concessions, both online and at the door. The company’s business model is structured to be free for event organizers, with service and payment processing fees typically passed on to the ticket purchaser. This approach, combined with direct deposit payouts within two business days of a sale, presents a compelling alternative to competitors who often delay payments until after an event concludes. The platform is designed for a variety of specialty events, with vertical-specific brands like HauntPay for haunted attractions, along with solutions for sports leagues, food festivals, and escape rooms.

Since its inception, Passage has demonstrated consistent growth, processing millions of dollars in sales for thousands of events globally. By October 2023, the company had sold over 8 million tickets and in the previous year, facilitated over $40 million in ticket sales, generating $2.8 million in revenue. Key milestones include launching virtual event capabilities in March 2020 to adapt to the pandemic, and introducing Passage Capital, a program offering cash infusions to event producers, which has distributed over $328,000. The company has also expanded its feature set to include assigned seating, virtual queues, NFT collectibles, and 'pay what you want' pricing, demonstrating a commitment to providing tools that help organizers grow their revenue.

Keywords: event ticketing, payment processing, mobile box office, event management software, niche events, haunted house ticketing, HauntPay, sports ticketing, festival payments, online ticket sales, at-the-door sales, merchandise sales, concession payments, Alex Linebrink, Patrick Misch, Detroit startup, Passage Capital, virtual events, NFT collectibles, customized ticketing