When Lucas Espada laced up his soccer boots for the first time at age 5, it was just another sport to play. What he didn't know at that time was where the world's most popular game was going to take him throughout life.
From youth fields in Philadelphia and East Brunswick, N.J., to Northeastern University, then to villages in Finland and the Czech Republic, and now to building a company, Espada had no idea that any of this was possible in soccer when he was just a kid.
By the time he was 16 and attending East Brunswick High School, Espada was a goalkeeper in the Philadelphia Union Academy, one of the nation's top academies that has produced elite talent. The experience from playing with those at the Union Academy gave Espada the confidence he needed to play soccer at the collegiate level.
"The Academy gave me the confidence that I could play at the next level," Espada said. "Being surrounded by such talented players who were serious about their dreams gave me a lot of motivation."
Espada first had his sights on going to Harvard, but that door closed after he failed to meet the academic requirements. He was then contacted by Division II and III schools, which led to some offers.
After thinking about his next move, Espada decided on Northeastern University in Boston. He wasn't recruited to Northeastern and wasn't on a scholarship, so he was betting on himself with the decision.
The bet presented challenges. He was cut from the club soccer team his freshman year and had to work his way back up the ranks.
"After being cut, I was then training with the varsity team until making the club team fully my sophomore year," Espada said.
He eventually became the captain of the club team during his senior year. Espada was also the manager of the Division 1 varsity program, where he ultimately earned himself a spot on the roster.
"I never logged any minutes in a varsity match, but earning that place as a walk-on was a defining moment for me," he said.
In October of 2020, during the height of the COVID Pandemic, Espada still wanted to chase soccer further. For him, that was reaching the professional ranks.
"I needed a purpose," he said. "And for me, that was continuing to chase soccer to impossible heights I never thought I would once reach."
The pursuit of first going pro led him to Miami, where he played in the USPL. After time in Miami developing his skills, Espada made his way into Finland's fifth tier, playing for Korsnäs FF. He then made his way into the fourth tier, playing for OTP Oulun Työväen Palloilijat.
After his stint in Finland, Espada moved over to the third division in the Czech Republic in 2025, playing for 1. SC Znojmo FK.
"Playing in Europe was both cutthroat and deeply rewarding", Espada said. "Living in small Finnish villages, adapting to new cultures and languages, and then moving into a top-10 European soccer country like the Czech Republic has been transformative."
While achieving his dream of being a professional soccer player, there was still more that Espada wanted to achieve.
Being an entrepreneur was always on his mind since he was a kid.
"The first career I ever said I wanted when I was a kid was 'Walt Disney'", he said. "I always thought he sounded cool, and I wanted to create something to make others happy."
While in high school, Espada would make video highlights for athletes. One project stood out to him the most - creating a video for a player who wasn't naturally skilled but looked like an elite player on film.
"That's when it hit me," he said. "Recruiting was never about fairness; it was just about who could afford to look good."
That was when the idea for ShowNxt started.
While chasing his professional soccer career and also the idea of ShowNxt, Espada linked up with Zachary Jarnagin, a former Division 1 Cross Country and Track and Field athlete. Jarnagin saw the same vision that Espada had of changing the college recruiting process.
"When I decided to chase soccer professionally, Zach kept pushing with what we were creating," Espada said. "Eventually, he and a few other former D1 athletes convinced me that this idea was too important to let pass by."
In January 2025, ShowNxt was officially launched and had secured $10,000 in funding from Northeastern University. In April, ShowNxt rolled out its first closed beta.
The mission for ShowNxt is simple for Espada: create equity in sports.
ShowNxt is trying to reimagine the recruiting process for athletes by removing the financial burdens and barriers. It's also aiming to improve recruiting efficiency for coaches.
Many recruiting platforms require payments to utilize all the resources, but ShowNxt is flipping the script.
"We're free for athletes," Espada said. "We generate revenue from coaches and schools on a pay-per-qualified-athlete basis, so they only pay for players who fit their program. Coaches spend thousands traveling to tournaments with no guarantee of recruits; with us, they get certainty for a fraction of the cost."
While ShowNxt aims at simplifying the recruiting process, the vision extends further than just recruiting.
"As the vision expands over time, we envision a full-fledged marketplace for athletes that includes mentorships, NIL deals, training programs, and more," Espada said.
Espada sees a clear line through his time on the pitch as a professional goalkeeper and his work and vision for ShowNxt. The biggest thing for him while developing ShowNxt is keeping his goalkeeper mentality.
"As a keeper, my job is to keep the ball out of the net, no matter how," he said. "I would always tell myself to 'make it work'. That mindset translates to entrepreneurship - things won’t always be clean or by the book, but you do what it takes to get the job done."
Consistency and resiliency are two other things that Espada developed over his years of playing and training. You don't improve overnight in soccer or in business. He relies on those two things to help give him an edge with ShowNxt.
"I’ve taken investor calls from rooftops in Prague, in hotel lobbies before training, and at 3 a.m. in Europe for U.S. accelerator programs," he said. "You adapt, you work, and you keep moving toward the dream."
Chasing dreams and doing what he thought was impossible was all Espada wanted to do growing up. He achieved the dream of playing soccer professionally and still continues to chase more of it.
His entrepreneurial mindset allowed him to create a company that is aiming to change sports forever. There's still a lot more to build and a long way to go, but that doesn't mean it's unreachable.
"Soccer taught me that impossible doesn't mean unreachable," he said. "That's what drives me."
