From visionaries to venture-backed, BTB’s limited series goes inside the minds shaping tomorrow’s economy. We speak to the founders, funders, and trailblazers reimagining value, not just through balance sheets, but cultural influence. What drives them? What defines their north star? And what separates conviction from noise? Find out below.
International model, actor, and now investor, Fiona Fussi has spent more than a decade in front of the camera. As the first Asian face of Chanel Beauty, she’s well accustomed to being a cover girl across international magazines, an actress on Netflix and host straddling fashion, media, and tech. But today, she’s carving out a new role: investor, cultural connector, and business leader. A true global citizen, Fussi speaks five languages and has lived and worked across Asia, Europe, and the US. Her mission is clear, to bridge commerce and culture, and leverage her platform and skillset to help scale innovation globally.
Speaking on Beyond the Boardroom’s Founders & Funders, Fussi opens up about her natural shift into the investment world, one shaped by entrepreneurial parents, early bets on herself, and a lifelong instinct for business. While her public image was built through fashion and film, she reveals how she was investing and exploring business opportunities behind the scenes long before she ever took the stage at global conferences like Founders Forum or the GreenTech Festival.
She reflects on career-defining risks, from moving to Hong Kong at 18 to booking a one-way ticket to LA to pursue acting in Hollywood, decisions that felt uncertain in the moment but became pivotal in building the resilience and independence that now fuel her work in venture. Fussi is clear-eyed about the transferable skills from her creative past, citing cultural intuition, adaptability, and people skills as key assets in the business world.
The conversation also explores her growing focus on wellness and longevity, an area she believes holds transformative potential. Fussi sees herself not just as a capital allocator, but as a cultural translator, someone who can amplify the innovations stuck in labs and connect them with broader audiences. “Innovation is useless if it never leaves the lab,” she says, explaining how figures with reach and resonance can help surface the ideas that matter.
She also speaks with conviction about the value of creatives in boardrooms, arguing that cultural foresight is its own form of due diligence, one that can spot momentum before it hits the data. Looking ahead, she envisions a hybrid identity: investor and creator, strategist and storyteller. Both, she says, come naturally.
Watch the full conversation to see how Fussi is redefining influence, and helping shape where culture and capital collide.