Josh GouldEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Summary: Josh Gould, Group CEO of TheBigWord – one of the world's largest language services providers, operating in over 80 countries with a workforce of 15,000 – explains why today's LLMs look more human than 2013's systems without actually being more accurate, how his company's orchestration layer routes each job to the model that is best at that language pair and domain, and why human linguists have shifted from translating to tuning, reviewing and editing while translation demand doubles every year. Joshua (Josh) Gould has spent his career at the intersection of language technology and human expertise – including TheBigWord's multi-year collaboration with Google on human feedback for neural machine translation. TheBigWord provides translation and interpreting across borders, hospitals, courts, and healthcare systems, giving people language access when they need it most. Beyond language technology, Josh is a co-founder, investor, and board member at a healthy frozen plant-based food company, and a frequent podcast guest on AI, entrepreneurship, and the future of work. Key Takeaways: Models are old; scale is new. The architectures behind today's AI existed on paper for decades – chips, electricity, and internet-scale data made them real. The baseline of every model is still human. LLMs didn't beat 2013. Current models don't score meaningfully better than the best neural Machine Translation of a decade ago – they look more human, while filling gaps with estimations that can make them slightly less accurate. Orchestration is the moat. No single model is best at everything; TheBigWord's layer routes French–Dutch orthopedic content to one engine and English–Russian general content to another, tuned continuously by client and linguist feedback – pushing accuracy from ~94% toward 98–99%. The linguists didn't disappear – their jobs changed. Translated content demand doubles every year; unit rates fell, volumes exploded, and translators became editors, reviewers and tuners. The predicted extinction never happened. Tokens are the hidden bill. Interpreting (voice-to-voice) consumes six to ten times the tokens of written translation, and today's AI prices are loss-making subsidies: expect roughly a doubling once providers must be profitable – machine interpreting at 75% of human cost today could be 150% tomorrow. Regulation helps the big and hurts the small. Compliance infrastructure is a sales advantage for a firm with 15,000 people and a burden that can put a bedroom startup in legal jeopardy; meanwhile European governments quietly race to adopt AI and will likely be forced to soften their own rules. The football-team principle. If you're allowed eleven humans on the pitch and unlimited robots, you field eleven humans plus robots. AI supersizes people rather than replacing them – and at TheBigWord, that's a stated commitment. Chapters: 00:04 The Evolution of Machine Translation 02:58 Moses, Hybrid Models and the Road to Neural MT 07:46 How Google Changed the Accuracy Game 13:17 The Role of Human Linguists in AI 17:30 Building the Orchestration Layer 20:21 The Real Cost of AI Tokens and Interpreting 22:36 The Economic Value of Immigration and Language Access 26:43 Cultural Nuances in Translation 31:05 Navigating Global AI Regulation 39:42 Regulatory Challenges in AI and Translation Hyperlinks: TheBigWord

Episode Notes Josh Gould's entrepreneurial journey didn't begin with a grand vision—it began with paying the bills. From selling beer in England to eventually leading The Big Word through exponential growth, Josh shares how business success is rarely the result of overnight breakthroughs. Instead, it's built through years of disciplined execution, continuous learning, and the willingness to keep moving forward when things become difficult. One of the most powerful moments in our conversation comes as Josh reflects on COVID, when his company lost 47% of its revenue almost overnight. Rather than accepting defeat, his team pivoted toward digital solutions and government partnerships, transforming one of the hardest seasons in the company's history into one of its greatest opportunities. We also dive deep into artificial intelligence. While many businesses view AI as a replacement for people, Josh offers a more balanced perspective. Having implemented AI long before it became mainstream, he explains why technology should automate repetitive work—not replace the human relationships that create trust, empathy, and long-term success. Throughout the conversation, Josh continually returns to one core belief: Business is ultimately about people. Whether discussing leadership, client relationships, company culture, or innovation, he reminds us that technology can improve efficiency, but genuine human connection will always remain the greatest competitive advantage. This episode is filled with practical business wisdom, honest leadership lessons, and a refreshing reminder that sustainable success comes from combining strategy with humanity. What We Explore in This Episode ● Scaling Beyond the $10 Million Barrier Why very few companies make it beyond $10 million—and what separates businesses that continue growing. ● Leading Through Uncertainty How Josh navigated one of the biggest business disruptions of his career and what every entrepreneur can learn from it. ● AI Without Losing Humanity How artificial intelligence can improve operations while strengthening—not replacing—human relationships. ● Leadership Through Ownership Why taking ownership creates more opportunities than blaming circumstances. ● Building Businesses That Matter How purpose, resilience, and service create companies that thrive for the long term. Connect with Josh Gould LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuadgould/ The Big Word: https://www.thebigword.com/ ExecCraft Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@exec_craft About Show Up with Priyanka: Show Up With Priyanka is a Top 1% globally ranked podcast where we have conversations with heart-centered, soul-led entrepreneurs exploring leadership, healing, intentional living, and sustainable success. Hosted by Priyanka Khandalkar, a transformational Business Scaling Coach, and founder of SynrGEE LLC, this show is devoted to helping you rise, reset, and lead from within. We would love to hear from you. Please send love notes, your feedback from this episode, any topics you’d like me to cover, or any questions to podcast@synrgee.net You can also connect with me here: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Website Work with Me Through SynrGEE LLC As founder and CEO of SynrGEE LLC and Fractional COO to multiple businesses, I support business owners in simplifying and systemizing their operations and marketing so they can scale sustainably while staying aligned with their vision. We provide Fractional COO leadership combined with hands-on team implement

In this episode of Growing Up B2B, your host Ed Delia speaks with Josh Gould, CEO of thebigword, a global language services company operating in over 80 countries. As a second-generation leader, Josh shares insights on navigating leadership transitions, building professional management teams, and embracing AI early. He discusses proving himself beyond his family name, conducting annual self-assessments, and balancing private equity involvement while preserving family values. Josh also highlights AI's role in enhancing, not replacing, human translators, and emphasizes that outdated leadership models, not technology, pose the greatest threat to family businesses. Check out Josh's work HERE . Connect with Josh on LinkedIn HERE . Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE .

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mark Banicevich interviews thebigword CEO Josh Gould on how organisations can turn technology investments into lasting value through strong collaboration. They explore what true alignment between boards, investors, and leadership looks like, and the costly consequences when it’s missing. Josh shares practical insights on balancing short-term pressures with long-term transformation, maintaining capital discipline, and ensuring the right talent is in place. From governance red flags to managing risk in large-scale tech programmes, this conversation is essential for directors looking to maximise returns and deliver meaningful, sustainable outcomes from digital investment. Joshua Gould is the Group CEO and Director of thebigword, offering over 20 years of C-level leadership across the technology, defence, and healthcare industries. His governance experience includes serving in an advisory capacity as a Board Advisor for AI Research and Development and as an Export Champion for the UK Government’s Department for International Trade. As the former CEO and co-founder of TBW Global, he directed critical language services for NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the UK Ministry of Defence. Joshua specialises in corporate strategy, M&A preparation, and the oversight of AI-driven business models. Recognised as European CEO of the Year, he manages global operations across 80 countries with a workforce of 15,000. #Governance, #CorporateGovernance, #BoardLeadership, #BoardOfDirectors, #Directors, #TechnologyStrategy, #DigitalTransformation, #TechInvestment, #Innovation, #BusinessStrategy, #Leadership, #RiskManagement, #CapitalAllocation, #InvestorRelations, #OrganisationalAlignment, #BusinessGrowth, #FutureOfWork, #ExecutiveLeadership, #TechLeadership, #SustainableValue, #Podcast, #YouTubeBusiness, #ThoughtLeadership

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mark Banicevich sits down with thebigword CEO Josh Gould to unpack how effective governance drives sustainable growth. From defining what growth-oriented governance looks like in practice to identifying the behaviours that separate high-performing boards from those that hold organisations back, this conversation is packed with practical insights. Josh shares the critical questions directors should ask, how to balance risk with bold decision-making, and why culture and long-term value must remain front of mind. A must-listen for directors and leaders seeking to turn governance into a genuine growth engine. Joshua Gould is the Group CEO and Director of thebigword, offering over 20 years of C-level leadership across the technology, defence, and healthcare industries. His governance experience includes serving in an advisory capacity as a Board Advisor for AI Research and Development and as an Export Champion for the UK Government’s Department for International Trade. As the former CEO and co-founder of TBW Global, he directed critical language services for NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the UK Ministry of Defence. Joshua specialises in corporate strategy, M&A preparation, and the oversight of AI-driven business models. Recognised as European CEO of the Year, he manages global operations across 80 countries with a workforce of 15,000. #Governance, #CorporateGovernance, #BoardLeadership, #BoardOfDirectors, #Directors, #Leadership, #BusinessGrowth, #SustainableGrowth, #Strategy, #RiskManagement, #Boardroom, #GovernanceMatters, #LeadershipInsights, #BusinessStrategy, #DecisionMaking, #OrganisationalCulture, #LongTermValue, #ExecutiveLeadership, #BusinessSuccess, #Podcast, #YouTubeBusiness, #ThoughtLeadership

In this episode, Fredrik sits down with Joshua Gould, CEO of The Big Word, to discuss his journey from expanding a UK-based language services business to Wall Street right before the Great Recession, to successfully pivoting into government contracts. Josh shares his deep industry insights into how artificial intelligence is transforming translation and interpreting, and how investors and business owners should evaluate AI companies. KEY TAKEAWAYS Setting up a business on Wall Street right before the 2008 Great Recession forced Josh to pivot away from the struggling private sector and focus on government contracts. That flexibility ultimately allowed the business to scale rapidly globally. If a company just bolts AI onto an existing service without solving a fundamental, structural problem, it is not a sustainable model. True value is created when AI is the core engine solving the issue. As large language models scale, their computing and energy costs grow exponentially. This could lead to a massive deflation or "bubble burst" for AI companies that lack the funding to keep up with hardware demands. There is a distinct difference between being an entrepreneur who simply creates a high-paying job for themselves versus building a scalable infrastructure. To truly scale, you have to replace yourself with systems and eventually hand over daily operations. You don't need to overhaul your entire business overnight to benefit from AI. Look for proven, localized AI tools that can safely increase efficiency in specific workflows without exposing your core client data to the open internet. BEST MOMENTS "I came to the US in 2006 and set up an office on 48 Wall. And if you are familiar with the Great Recession, probably the dumbest move ever." "You can't be everything at scale. And there's a big difference between entrepreneurs who create themselves a job... You cannot scale that; you still only got 24 hours in a day." "The only people who are truly building AI are the Anthropics and the Googles and the Microsofts. And you don't want to be them." "The quicker you are to adopt, the quicker you're going to capture market share. And what you'll find is the macroeconomics of any big tech movement, especially AI, changes everything." "AI interpreting isn't for using, it's just for selling. Everyone buys from us because we have it, but then no one wants to use it." TO CONNECT WITH JOSH https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuadgould/ Books by Fredrik Sandvall Options Strategy: Build to Keep. Ready to Sell Tomorrow. For founders and CEOs who want businesses that compound in value, stay under control, and are always sale-ready. ⁠https://amzn.to/4pwVhoi⁠ The Abyss of Finance: Trust, Leverage and the Cycles of Collapse For investors and leaders who want to understand why financial systems break before they do. ⁠https://amzn.to/3YsRKfI⁠ About the Podcast Invest in You is a global podcast where entrepreneur and investor Fredrik Sandvall shares practical ideas and conversations with founders, investors, and operators. Episodes focus on investing, entrepreneurship, and building long-term control and freedom. Occasionally joined by his sons Ivan and Charlie, the show offers both experience-based insight and a next-generation perspective. Listeners in 155+ countries tune in to think clearer, act smarter, and build with intent. Community & Contact Podcast community: https://bit.ly/4jxF94k Fredrik Sandvall LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandvall/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/FredrikinLondon/

Josh Gould is the Director of Innovation at the Duquesne Light Company. He & his team have kicked off a $750k open innovation challenge around monitoring underground electrical cables. He talks a little bit more about this on the episode. The submissions are due March 15th so we wanted to get this out there, make you aware of it in case it fits any of your startups. I also think for anybody listening to this, it's really a great perspective around how to do outside in kind of external innovation. Show Links: https://www.herox.com/DLCCableChallenge https://www.herox.com/TreeOfLights

Wow is Josh Gould a guy that is "Getting It Right." In this episode Josh shares how he set himself free to follow his passion of building an incredible luxury brand in the St. Louis AirBNB market. Josh's secret sauce is his attention to details that makes the customer want to buy the experience he is offering. Clearly, Josh is imaginative and talented with how he knows what looks right for what he wants to create. He wasn't afraid to buck the AirBNB market of what you have to do to be successful. He paved his own path in the high end market. You have to check out his incredible website...he focused on the exact vibe he wanted as he built this upscale website www.jgouldholdings.com . Josh is not shy about sharing his rules of the do's and don't's of things he has tried as he was "Getting It Right." Josh has built a brand that is recognized as a Gould property or business that stands for upscale luxury. Also, if anyone is wanting to be a Rockstar to show off to all your people at the Lake of the Ozarks...than the Skyfall Yacht is your ticket. Josh provides a captain and crew to cruise you to all your destinations for fun. This episode is all about having a passion, a goal, and a plan...plus not being afraid to standout and create your own path different from the crowd. Josh is going places...you are going to want to listen in and get some nuggets of knowledge with what he is talking about. Josh's contact info is joshua@gouldholdings.com work # 314-833-6019 cell# 314-504-3934 website: jgouldholdings.com

In the business world, innovation has risked turning into more of a buzzword than an actual guiding principle. But in a rapidly evolving industry like utilities, innovation can have real impact on operations, on customers, and on the way the entire sector is set up. As such, innovation departments have sprung up across various power providers, seeking out new ways to modernize grid operations, to transform the customer-utility relationship, and to enhance the 21st century utility goals of clean, reliable, and affordable energy. Innovation in these departments is no hollow promise, but something to tangibly deliver. The guest on this latest episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast lives and breathes innovation for utilities, and he argues that to truly embrace innovation a utility must embrace it as a part of the pervading company culture. Josh Gould is the Director of Innovation at Duquesne Light Company, and in that role he’s made it his personal mission to weave innovation culture through every part of the utility business. And while certain outcomes seem more obvious to be measured, Josh shares with host Jason Price and producer Matt Chester how innovation culture can in fact be tracked. His pitch, in this episode, is all about starting innovation at your utility today, so if you need inspiration or ideas to bring to your CEO, you’ll want to listen to Josh’s call to action here! Key Links Josh Gould’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/josh-gould Why traditional thinking on innovation culture must evolve: https://energycentral.com/c/um/why-traditional-thinking-innovation-culture-must-evolve Energy Central Post with Full Transcript: https://energycentral.com/o/energy-central/energy-central-power-perspectives%E2%84%A2-podcast-episode-32-creating-culture-innovation Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: energycentral.com/user/register Did you know? The Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast has been identified as one of the industry's 'Top 25 Energy Podcasts': blog.feedspot.com/energy_podcasts/

Did you know that over 70% of people who sign up for a gym membership don't even use it after the first month? Why do so many people quit their workout plans before they ever even get started? In this show we interview Josh Gould, founder of ExerciseExpertise.net. Josh is one of the top personal trainers and is an expert on the psychology of exercise and success. Josh shares how the biggest stumbling blocks most people face when starting a workout program are internal and psychological. Josh shares his most powerful tips and strategies for controlling your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to get the most out of your workout program. If you've had trouble sticking to your workouts in the past, this show will help you overcome those obstacles. For more information about Josh, visit him at www.ExerciseExpertise.net We'd like to thank you for subscribing to the Authentic Health Coaching Nutrition Podcast show - so we're giving away Dr. Corson's Top 5 Nutrition Tips Report for our subscribers at www.AuthenticHealthCoach.com