Owner/Agent

James M Gould

Jimmy Gould has spent over four decades proving that one career can hold conviction,compassion and success. Driven by passion, progress, love, and human potential, Jimmy isequally willing to fight for them when the moment demands it. His endeavors lie in the beliefbusiness, and finance has been the instrument he uses to move ideas the establishment insistedcould not be moved.That pattern emerged early. As a founding member of the United States Football League in 1982,Jimmy challenged the most powerful league in American sports, negotiating landmark contractsand later serving as President of the New Jersey Generals upon his selling the team to Donald J.Trump. During his years in the USFL, Jimmy negotiated several major contracts on behalf ofownership, with such players as Lawrence Taylor, Cris Collinsworth, Craig James, and others.He went on to found Management One, a sports management firm that has represented more than100 professional athletes across the NFL and NBA — including DeVante Parker, FrosteeRucker, Terry Glenn, Peter Warrick, Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson, Andre Smith, Lorenzo Styles,Gary Trent, Sue Bird, and the late Korey Stringer. Korey's death transformed Jimmy's sense ofpurpose. He represented Founder Kelci Stringer in building the Korey Stringer Institute where heserves as the Chairman of the Board of Advisors in partnership with the NFL, Gatorade, and theUniversity of Connecticut. The Institute maximizes performance and safety for the athlete,warfighter, and laborer.As an investor, Jimmy has backed the unconventional before it was obvious. He has more than40 years in private equity, development, and negotiation across companies, real estate, sports,and entertainment. Jimmy was a Founder and Managing General Partner of The Walnut Group.As the first institutional investor in Build-A-Bear Workshop, he served on the Board of Directorsfor almost two decades and was instrumental in taking the company public for $600 million onthe NYSE, as the company grew into an international iconic brand. He has also invested andserved on several other Boards of Directors notably Wild Things, a designer of high end outdoorand specialized military apparel, Lightbox OOH Video Network, a digital media network,Skylight, a financial company for the unbanked, LoveSac, North American Baking, SovereignBrands, The O’Gara Group, TMSI/The Movers Guide, Tapper Candies, and United Sports, LLC,an owner of seven minor league baseball and hockey teams.Jimmy was Founder and Managing Partner of Avondale Pictures and Avondale EntertainmentGroup. In addition, Jimmy has produced, distributed, and packaged numerous motion pictures, television and entertainment events and was a Founder and Partner in Triton Pictures. He hasbeen a frequent investor in numerous acclaimed Broadway musicals including Smokey Joe’sCafé, Topdog/Underdog, Hairspray, Jersey Boys, and Spiderman. Starting in 2012, Jimmycreated and hosted A Current Life on VoiceAmerica, the world’s largest internet talk radionetwork. Some of his guests included Maxine Clark, Nicholas Sparks, Leslie Stahl, GeneralHugh Shelton, Bob Costas, Mike Brown, Chip Rosenbloom, Sela Ward, Marlo Thomas, andTyrese Gibson.His defining battle came in Ohio. As a Founder of ResponsibleOhio and Green LightAcquisitions, an asset holding company, Jimmy invested and raised $28 million for the 2015Cannabis legalization constitutional campaign and in 2016 was named to the Ohio HouseMedical Marijuana Task Force by the Speaker of the House — work that helped shape thelegislation signed into law on September 8, 2016. He then built the industry he had fought tolegitimize: founding, building, operating, and selling five Ohio dispensaries as well as serving asFounder and CEO of CannAscend Ohio Processing, LLC. Jimmy is also an investor and leadboard member of Spendr,Inc, which is a fintech and marketing technology platform.Across every industry he has entered, Jimmy's signature has been bringing people together —athletes and owners, activists and investors, dreamers and lawmakers — to build what none ofthem could build alone. He has served on numerous non-profit boards including Prevent ChildAbuse America, Blue Legacy International, Camp BrightLight in partnership with the YMCA,Cincinnati Golden Gloves, and the Cincinnati Ballet. He has long been drawn to the Foundersand Entrepreneurs who are bold enough to believe they can change the world, and Jimmy hasspent his life backing their dreams.Jimmy graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in History and an EducationCertificate. He is most proud of having raised exceptional children and climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.