In December 2005, Gould sold his first business toBolt 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]
Under Gould's management, Bolt's revenue grew to $7 million annually with 5.3 million U.S. visitors to the website monthly.[7][failed verification] In February 2007, he signed an 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, includingMayfield Fund, First Round Capital, andReid Hoffman.[14]
In 2007, Gould and his wife Caitlin foundedGamersMedia, later called Yashi, 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. It launched in February 2008.[15][5]
Yashi became a location-focused advertising platform that targeted mobile and web video advertising.[16]
The company was named toInc.'s Inc. 5000 list of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for four consecutive years from 2012–2015.[16][17]
Gould is an angel investor, with investments in Buffer,[27]CapLinked, Tout,iDoneThis,Fitocracy, and Cadee.[28] In March 2012, Gould was part of a $1 million funding initiative for DogVacay, an online marketplace for residential dog boarding.[28]
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.[29]
In 2014, Gould was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award finalist in New Jersey.[30]
