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Emma Weissmann
Emma WeissmannContributing Writer

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How Entrepreneur Grace McBride Built Two Successful Travel Businesses

Nov 20, 2023
Podcasts  Training and Education  Travel Agents  
How Entrepreneur Grace McBride Built Two Successful Travel Businesses
Credit: 2023 TravelAge West

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Grace McBride got her start in the travel industry earlier than most — as an undergraduate at Cornell University. During her sophomore year, McBride worked as a marketing intern for JetBlue, where she helped write marketing and ad copy for the airline. After catching the travel bug, she joined MilesAhead, a travel agency founded by Cornell classmate Rob Karp.

But it was an entrepreneurship class that ultimately gave McBride and her friend, Sarah Peters, the idea for an entirely new travel business: TripKit, an itinerary builder and assistant service for luxury travel advisors (a company that the pair eventually sold in 2022).

In this episode of Humans of Travel, McBride takes listeners along on her entrepreneurial journey, sharing the impact her father — a florist from Long Island — had on her work ethic; the pros and cons of starting two companies while juggling school (and a pandemic); and how travel advisors and suppliers can engage with her newest venture: Lucia, a freelance marketplace for the travel industry.

Grace McBride, co-founder of TripKit and Lucia
Grace McBride, co-founder of TripKit and Lucia
Credit: 2023 TravelAge West

Resources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading

From TravelAge West: Lucia Gives Travel Businesses a New Way to Hire Freelance Workers

MilesAhead

TripKit

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Lucia

Contact McBride: [email protected]

Rob Karp on Humans of Travel

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