It takes great skill to to be able to write consistently funny jokes on a day-to-day basis. To be able to do that across mediums as audiences adapt and technology evolves is a skill that surpasses the word ‘advanced.’ Over the past 30 years, Fred Graver has leant his talents to a staggering list of extremely popular comedic experiences with diverse voices and few commonalities (apart from their successes). He helped reinvent the format of the talk show with Late Night with David Letterman in the 1980s, the limits of sketch comedy with In Living Color in the 1990s, and how we talk about pop culture in with VH1’s Best Week Ever in the 2000s. Over magnum sized Diet Cokes, he told us how as the creative lead of TV at Twitter he is able to continue leveraging his skills at adapting the art of storytelling in the TV world and bring it to the masses in an even more meaningful way. However, the stakes now aren’t just ratings: he’s pushing the networks to compete in a real-time global conversation that extends beyond their traditional broadcast comfort zones. All the while, keeping his eye on whatever may be the next big movement in storytelling. Cheers!

Stacey Mulcahy is a technologist of the masses who has built her career on “just figuring it out.” As a social worker in Ontario, Canada, her career originated both geographically and professionally far from where she is today. She was drawn to the field, inspired by the teachers in her family who preceded her, and while it was ultimately not for her, she left with the motivation to better the status quo of the people she worked with. However, taking this same altruistic approach to the tech and corporate world has presented an entirely different set of challenges. Over Moscow Mules, she recounts her upbringing in the digital space: becoming a developer by accidental necessity in order to pick up the slack of her team, transitioning from small to large agencies, and learning at each turn that we’re all better at what we do when we can learn from each other. Now, in her current role as Senior Technical Evangelist for Microsoft (a developer who talks to developers), she is finding the balance of being in a traditionally corporate environment and remaining true to herself as @BitchWhoCodes. However, we learned that it is because of her unconventional, ‘no shits given’ approach to an often disheartening, patriarchal field that makes her one of the right people to further the future of the industry and lead the next generation of tech. For more, check out @bitchwhocodes and https://tmedium.com/@bitchwhocodes.

Buzz Andersen has a resume which reads like the starting lineup of a tech all-star team, boasting the likes of Apple, Tumblr, and Square. More impressively, however, is his learn-on-the-go attitude which got him in the door of each, starting with his dissatisfaction with the basic computer courses offered in his Colorado high school and the curriculum which was written for him because of it. And as an engineer, he has continued to push the envelop, has honing his skills around iOS development, starting with his iPod transfer app, PodWorks (which started as a means to introduction to Apple), and early Twitter client Birdfeed, all the while enjoying the merits of each.   Over freshly made margaritas with Tres Generaciones tequila, we got a peek behind the curtain of these tech behemoths, who surprisingly share many of the same challenges startups face everyday. It’s because of his experience and consistent chutzpah that lead Buzz on his latest endeavor, now on the agency side, as co-founder of 3 year old Brooklyn Computer Club, a development consultancy agency; appreciating and overcoming the challenges that this new role brings. To keep up, follow @buzz and check out Brooklyn Computer Club.

Kelly Goldston is a marketer after our own hearts: data-driven to the core, she’s changing the norms in the “fast fashion” space as VP of Marketing at ELOQUII.COM, her dream job. In her arsenal, the power afforded her as a digital retailer partnered with a fan army who, when faced with the potential of ELOQUII closure, petitioned for and ultimately inspired it’s spin off from the Limited brand. The best part? She was one of those fans.   However, as we learned over Roederer Estate Brut, the perfect pairing to her bubbly personality, this happenstance would not have been possible without the career path which precedes it. From a controversial period in sales at early Groupon and ultimately data analysis, she was compelled to further her trajectory to better serve the customers she advocated for. So, with a stint at Amazon’s Quidsi brands, Diapers.com and Casa.com, to be exact, and an NYU Stern MBA specializing in marketing and business analytics it only seemed natural that she’d end up where she is. All it took was that one customer service call…   For more from Kelly, please see @MsKellyGoldston.

Many of our guests can trace their internet beginnings to one pivotal moment which changed their entire trajectory. For Decider.com’s Editor in Chief Mark Graham, it was his first search query on Netscape Navigator in 1992: “Björk.” From those humble beginnings and his unparalleled affinity for brands and advertising, he has enjoyed an interesting and varied career riddled with the adventures that growing up in the early dot com era affords. However, in a time when people were trying to figure things out online, he had the added pressure of making that happen from his hometown of Detroit within behemoth companies like Borders and OnStar; this, made all the more complicated while maintaining a secret persona online Uncle Grambo, with his pop culture blog-before-blogs Whatevs.org. Suffice to say, when the time came, Mark took a leap and ended up amongst his internet brethren in New York City after a failed attempt to join Best Week Ever ultimately paid off. It was this which lead to leadership positions at VH1, Gawker, and now heralding at Decider.com. It’s been quite the journey, for sure, made all the more entertaining while being shared over Bud Lite Strawberitas. (And also our worst hangover to-date!) Cheers! For more from Mark, check out the latest at his (legitimized) whatevs.tumblr.com and his musings at @unclegrambo.

Ashley Granata has spent her career bringing her passion for fashion to the forefront of the tech world. As an FIT grad, she lept right in as a buyer for Bloomingdale’s (on the seemingly lowest rung of the web store) and has never looked back. However, it’s been her keen sense of the industry and drive to innovate that she is now working on her second startup in the fashion-tech scene.   Over Fernet Branca, she recounts how the impetus for her first co-founded company, Fashism, began with the idea of by encouraging people to feel comfortable in their own skin by stepping out of their comfort zone and connecting them with others in order to find their unique style. And ultimately that product also encouraged her to do the same, forcing her to step out of her own when finally making the difficult decision to close shop. However, never discouraged, we got a sneak behind the virtual curtain into her latest endeavor as Entrepreneur in Residence at Rothenberg Ventures where she is, further bridging the fashion space into cutting edge VR technology. She continues to  believe that when “you look good, you feel good and that is when you’re at your best” and, what can we say? We’re feeling pretty good about how the future of tech is looking. For more from her follow: @ashley_jeanne

Seth Porges is a jack of all trades; a journalist, tech entrepreneur, TV personality, and semi-professional karaoke enthusiast, who is constantly jumping between media in pursuit of his interests. As a young man he became interested in pursuing a career in journalism with the allure of the perks associated (free movie tickets, anyone?). However, it was after his time at Northwestern when he saw how that field actually does pay off. Upon graduation, he fully entrenched himself into reporting in the budding New York tech scene, which opened the many of the doors he’s entered today.   Now, with a strong writing career behind him, he is able to attribute this immersion to other aspects of his life, particularly his co-founded passion-project-turned-successful-startup Cloth App and added a foray into the TV world. Over Lagavulin scotch, he explained to us that, in his career, it’s all come down to seizing the right moments and timing, and having a signature karaoke move.   Oh, and did we mention he also did this Action Park documentary?! For more from him, check out @sethporges and download Cloth App.

When Alex Tryon finally got her first bonus at American Express, all she wanted to was buy a piece of art by Jock Sturges, her favorite artist. But the gallery world road blocked her and painted her into a virtual corner; thus, the idea for her startup, Artsicle, was born. However, Alex’s love of art didn’t start at Amex, but rather was inspired while traveling in Europe as a kid. A native Texan, she loved discovering the world that art overseas opened up for her. She then pursued that knowledge, along with the practical study of business communications, at U Penn. Her journey from startup idea to formidable business isn’t what you may expect, but it’s a unique tale that truly embraces love, risk and, ultimately, the culmination of her dream. To keep up with her, check out @alexistryon.  

As Creative Director of one of the world’s most well-known and respected news organizations, BBC News, Ulrik Hogrebe definitely has his tasks set out for him. This is true especially when you consider the ever evolving landscape of how news is created, disseminated, and consumed on a daily basis. It’s a position which he found seemingly naturally, by way of many years of education and experience: from brand strategy at E-Types and post-graduate studies at both the Copenhagen Business School and Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, he is compelled by a desire to be a part of the “making of things.” Luckily for us, his background also includes a stint as a bartender; so, over hand-crafted old fashioneds, he filled us in on how his experience has been about raising the bar from a culture of “good enough” to meaningful interactions, knowing when to push pride aside and ask for help, and that the best way to get into something is to just get your hands dirty. His story is a reminder to us that the best way to learn and grow, both for a product and as a person, is by not getting bogged down by formality and tools and to continue to experiment and take risks.  For more from him, see: @ulle69.

When Lauren Leto, at age 22, started a blog listing random text messages from her boyfriend and friends, she had no dream or idea that it would immediately turn into the massive success that Texts From Last Night became, and cast a spotlight on her that she never expected or wanted. As a law student at Wayne State with a passion for writing (and actual dreams of becoming the next John Grisham) she didn’t even have ambitions for tech.   However, over glasses of Ridge Geyserville, we learn how this unexpected twist allowed her to rise to the occasion and inspired the next steps of her journey in New York City. Once there, she saw the rise and fall of a company, Bnter, took a short stop as a Hacker-in-Residence at Betaworks, and set the foundations for her forthcoming new endeavor, Listen, all while maintaining a healthy distance from being the “Texts From Last Night girl.” Lauren's path is filled with a lot of hats, some accidental successes, and some hard learned lessons (oh, and a podcast of her own) - a true founder’s story. For more from her, check out @laurenleto and Judging a Book By it’s Lover.