Author Maia Josebachvili

Maia grew up watching too many Indiana Jones movies and decided at a very early age that she was going to try everything in the world once. It started with a mechanical engineering degree, was followed by a two-year stint as a derivatives trader on Wall Street, which precipitated a 14-month train trip around the world that led to the creation of Urban Escapes. Maia started Urban Escapes as an answer to every young professional's desire to "get out of the bubble". The concept stuck and just one year after the inaugural camping trip in New York, Urban Escapes had branches open in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. In just two and a half years, Maia and her business partner grew the company to 45 employees and boasted over 10,000 people on trips. In August 2010, social shopping site LivingSocial took notice of Urban Escapes and acquired the company that following month. She and her team now run the travel and events department for LivingSocial, bringing unique and exciting social adventures to the ten million and growing subscribers around the world. When Maia's not scouting the country for potential Escapes and new cities for expansion, she's feeding her adrenaline bug by either skydiving in the summer (700+ jumps and counting) or telemark skiing in the winter.