Meredith Kessinger Damm, founder and Managing Director of Fountainhead Advisors, has over 20 years of experience in business valuation and investment banking. She is also involved in The Atlanta Women’s Foundation, Women’s Finance Exchange, The Financial Network, and several other professional organizations around Atlanta. Prior to starting her own company, Meredith worked with big name financial institutions like Wachovia Capital Markets. With this background and expertise, it’s no wonder that Fountainhead Advisors has won two awards in the past two years for its accomplishments in the business valuation industry—the Business Valuation Firm of the Year award as well as the Fortune 500 Valuation Firm of the Year award.
We caught up with Fountainhead Advisors to learn more about their services geared towards scalable tech companies:
Year/Date Founded:
May 2003
Number of Employees:
4 (FTE)
Founders/Execs:
Meredith Kessinger Damm and Sarah DeKreek
Your Pitch:
Fountainhead Advisors is a leading provider of business valuation and related financial advisory services. The firm’s focus and expertise is in providing valuation advisory services for financial reporting, merger and acquisition, tax planning and reporting and strategic planning purposes. Clients today range from small privately-held companies to Fortune 500 corporations. Fountainhead’s professionals are highly-credentialed, having earned the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation from the American Society of Appraisers. The company has also been recognized with several national valuation awards.
How does ATL weave into your story?
While we cater to companies all over the world, my business partner, Sarah DeKreek, and I both moved to Atlanta after college because it was one of the top business cities at each of our respective graduating times. After attending high school in greater Atlanta, I knew it was a great city for business, so in 1993, after finishing college, I decided to make Atlanta my home. Atlanta was coming out of the real estate recession and was listed as one of the top cities for business (so it was a logical progression for me). Sarah moved to Atlanta in 1998 when the dot.com industry was booming, and Atlanta was once again listed as one of the top companies for the tech sector. Coming full circle, following the Great Recession, Atlanta is currently listed as one of the top cities for business and careers as well as a top transportation hub. So, the city continues to be a springboard for Fountainhead as we are introduced to national and even global companies. Although we are women in a typically male-dominated industry, we believe that we have gained a strong presence in the Atlanta area.
What services do you offer?
Our sole focus is on business valuation services. We have found that private companies that are buying a company or selling theirs; raising capital; issuing stock options; or individuals who are focusing on estate planning all need to know the value of their business.
In what ways does Fountainhead cater to scalable tech companies?
Scalable tech companies are in a high growth phase. Whether they are growing organically, through acquisitions or with a capital raise and subsequent partnership with a private equity group, tech companies need to know the value of their business. We help established tech company owners understand the value of their business as they navigate through these transactions.
