On June 1, 2001 I launched GouldPartners LLC, a PR agency M&A firm.
• I had no partners
• I had no staff
• I had no clients
• I sublet a small office from the CPA firm that acquired my CPA firm the day before.
Nine months later I hired my first full-time employee, Yadi Gomez.
Today, June 1, 2016, fifteen years later:
• We have rebranded as Gould+Partners
• We have a thriving M&A and consulting practice
• We have facilitated major transactions among many household names in the PR industry
• Our Benchmarking Reports are the gold standard for profitability management
• Our management books, webinars and speaker engagements have been well received
• I created and taught one of the first graduate Entrepreneuring courses in the U.S. (at Parsons School of Design)
• I am a regular participant in the Harvard Law School Program on negotiation, led by some of the most brilliant professors in the world.
• My M&A book, Doing It the Right Way, will be out any day. All net proceeds will be donated to Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, dedicated to providing a “different kind of healing” to seriously ill children and their families throughout the Northeast, free of charge. I hope that this book and future updates will represent my legacy in the PR industry.
• Yadi Gomez is still with me as our account coordinator
• Matthew Schwartz, who has been covering PR, marketing and advertising for more than 15 years, recently joined the firm as Editorial Director in order to boost our content marketing efforts and online programming
It has been a fruitful and fulfilling 15 years. It is a great reward to give back to the PR community.
A hearty thanks to all clients and colleagues for your ongoing support. I look forward to working with our existing clients and developing new ones in the PR and ad agency fields.
Cheers! Rick