In December 2005, Gould sold his first business to
Bolt Media for an undisclosed amount and joined Bolt as its President.[6] At the time of the sale, Gould's websites had 3.3 million U.S. unique visitors, according to comScore Media Metrics.[1]
While under Gould's management, Bolt's revenue grew to $7 million annually, 5.3 million U.S. visitors to their website monthly,[7][failed verification] culminating in signing a definitive agreement to sell the company for up to $30 million.[8][9][10] Just prior to signing the $30 million definitive agreement,
Universal Music Group filed a lawsuit against Bolt, MySpace and others for alleged copyright infringement.[11] Bolt was ultimately unable to reach a settlement with Universal Music, which resulted in the termination of Bolt's $30 million acquisition, eventually leading Bolt to file an assignment for the benefit of creditors.[12][13]
During Gould's tenure at Bolt, he co-founded WikiYou, which raised $500,000 from investors, including
Mayfield Fund, First Round Capital, and
Reid Hoffman.[14]
Gould later founded GamersMedia, the first vertical-advertising network to bring brand advertisers to casual-gaming websites, which at its launch had over 20 million unique visitors across 40 sites.[15][16][17] On February 2, 2015, the company was acquired by
Nexstar Media Group for $33 million.[18]
Yashi
Jay Gould and Caitlin Gould founded Yashi in 2007.[19] Yashi became a location-focused advertising platform that targeted mobile and web video advertising.[20]
The company was named to
Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for four consecutive years from 2012–2015.[20][21]
Yashi was acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group on February 2, 2015, for $33 million.[18]
Gould is an angel investor, with sizable contributions to companies such as Buffer,[30] CapLinked, Tout, iDoneThis, Fitocracy, and Cadee, among others.[31] In March 2012, Gould was part of a $1 million funding initiative for DogVacay, an online marketplace for residential dog boarding.[31]
In addition to startup capital, Gould also contributes his knowledge and expertise to entrepreneurs. He is a member of the Rowan University Entrepreneurship Program Advisor Council (ENTAC).
Awards and recognition
On September 20, 2010, Gould was honored as a recipient of the NJBIZ Forty under 40 Award. The award recognizes up-and-coming businesspersons based in the New Jersey-New York area.[32]
In 2014, Gould was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award finalist in New Jersey.[33]