Martha Fouts

Biography

Martha “Rainmaker” Fouts is a highly successful Mergers & Acquisitions Master Intermediary who is frequently sought after as an entertaining speaker on topics relating to exit strategies, industry trends, and maximizing corporate value. Less than 100 M&A intermediaries worldwide have completed the rigorous educational and deal closing requirements earning them the right to use the M&AMI designation.
Fouts began her entrepreneurial career straight out of college but not in the rarified air of investment banking and mergers & acquisitions. “I earned my deal making skills straight out of college selling secondhand American sportswear in outdoor flea markets in England in the early 1970’s where doing deals meant dinner and not doing deals meant possible deportation.”
In 1978 she moved back to Los Angeles where she opened reputedly the first punk rock store in Southern California. She put her boutique on the map by inviting emerging bands to play in the store every Friday and Saturday night. Each band brought their own groupies, made tons of noise and attracted a great deal of attention. Best of all, each one had a band manager that worked tirelessly promoting their adolescent protégés. The store eventually earned a reputation as a great place to hear new talent. Many of the area papers publicized upcoming events right alongside the L.A. Coliseum, the Whisky-a-Go Go, the Greek Theater and other iconic L.A. music venues. Two of the more memorable bands to play in the store were Oingo Boingo and the English pop/ska band Madness. “Running the Village Mews was the most fun I ever had as a grownup. I discovered that work could actually be fun. Who knew?” However, after five years of head banging exuberance, a marriage and two babies, even Fouts knew it was time to tone it down a bit.
She opened a factory in East L.A. designing apparel for rock stars and other L.A. celebrities. Concurrently she found a huge untapped opportunity in the licensed apparel business. By the late 1980’s, Fouts’ company, The Village Mews, owned limited rights to some of the hottest brands and licensed characters in the industry including Budweiser’s Spuds McKenzie. The company was sold to Turner Industries in 1991.
Becoming a Mergers & Acquisitions advisor was a natural progression for Fouts. An entrepreneur for most of her life Fouts has gained a significant amount of insight and empathy for sellers. She understands the emotional rollercoaster that most business owners go through as they prepare to exit their businesses and reap the largest paycheck of their lives. “I love working with entrepreneurs. I love their passion and enthusiasm and I love learning about their businesses from the inside out. I also understand their fear and apprehension. Successfully selling a business for most entrepreneurs is the culmination of a dream and often the seed money for retirement or a new venture. Nothing in my life thus far has been as exciting as watching multi-million dollar checks cross tables into the hands of very deserving business owners as they traverse into new lives.”
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