In 1994, Laurel Touby, a Smith College graduate and then-freelance business writer and Glamour magazine contributor, decided to host a mixer for media people. About 20 editors, writers, and other content creators came to that original cocktail party at Jules Bistro in the East Village. The parties quickly grew, and soon Laurel had 4,000 of New York's top media talent on her email list. After creating a website in 1996 and adding features such as job listings, bulletin boards, classes, e-classes, media and a freelance marketplace, Touby's business began to take off. Today, mediabistro also includes news, events and "learn" emails, as well as media industry blogs. Last year, Touby sold mediabistro to Jupitermedia for $23 million. Following the sale of Mediabistro, Laurel began a second career as a New York City based start-up Advisor and Investor focusing on the Media, Financial Technology and Emerging Technology industries. She has also been a mentor for the tech incubator, Techstars. In January 2015, she set up her own investor syndicate, Flatiron Investors, representing New York based private investors.

Magazine contributor, Editing, Writing, Start-Up Founder, Business, Business Leadership, Big Think, Media Professionals, Social Media, Technology, Digital Marketing, Startup, Economy Finance,