Internet entrepreneur and angel investor Jay Gould ’01 to speak at Rowan

Rowan University alumnus Jay Gould, an internet entrepreneur and angel investor , will discuss his experiences as a young entrepreneur as part of the Rohrer Lecture Series at Rowan University on Wednesday, March 25, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 107 of Bunce Hall on Glassboro campus.

Gould, who earned his bachelor’s degree in law and justice studies from Rowan in 2001, sold his most recent business, Yashi, Inc., for $33 million last month. The Toms River-based Yashi, a leading video advertising and programmatic technology company, was acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group.

Yashi was founded by Gould and his wife, Caitlin, in 2007. The company was named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies for three consecutive years, as well as the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Additionally, Yashi was named one of the Best Places to Work in New Jersey in 2014 by NJBIZ.

Just two years after graduating from Rowan, Gould sold his first business, a free online dating web site, to a publicly held company in 2003. He later created the first viral video sharing website, which he sold to a New York City-based private Internet company in 2005.

Gould also founded  WikiYou, which raised $500,000 from investors, including Mayfield Fund, First Round Capital, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

The Goulds are active angel investors through their family fund, Gould Ventures, with investments in more than 40 tech startups. They include Dogvacay, Buffer, Dash and more.

Gould received one of the top business honors when he won a Silver Stevie for Executive of the Year in 2014 from the American Business Awards. He also was a 2014 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and was named to the NJBIZ Forty Under 40.

For information on Gould’s visit to Rowan, which is open to the public, contact Steve Kozachyn, executive director of external affairs for the Rohrer College of Business, at Kozachyn@rowan.edu or 856-256-4126.