Ernest M. Fountain was born in Tallulah, Louisiana. After finishing his bachelor's degree in business administration, Fountain moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to study banking and finance. He began his banking career in 1976 when he started working for Valley Bank of Nevada. At the time, he was one of only two black lending officers in the state of Nevada. He is the former Director of the Las Vegas Minority Business Development Center, and is also the founder and past president of the Black Business Council of Nevada, formed in 1991.