Media Bistro, once a "mixer", now sold for US$23 million

For those of you who use and enjoy Media Bistro, the news, jobs and training website from the U.S., it may be interesting to know that what started 10 years ago as a series of cocktail party "mixers" and became a media job board has today been sold to Jupitermedia Corporation for $23 million. Laurel Touby, the CEO, becomes senior vice-president of the new, merged entity.

Ms Touby told the New York Times: “This company is a true Internet success story. This started as an offline community, a cocktail party, that turned into this Web site that actually makes money.”

In 1993, Ms. Touby started arranging after-work mixers for editors, writers, television producers and graphic designers, inviting professionals as well as job seekers.

Ms. Touby compiled a list of job postings and, in 1996, opened Mediabistro.com. Four years later, Ms. Touby received investor financing, and the Web site was incorporated.