Soon after setting up the luxury fashion boutique Cabus in 1990, the unstable political situation in Venezuela prompted Carmen to branch out internationally. At fashion shows in Paris, Milan and New York, she began pre-selling clothes straight from the catwalk by sending sketches and Polaroids to her global network of friends and clients by international courier.

Following in the spirit and success of this idea, and struck by the rapid growth of the newly formed tech sector and the excellent return on investment prospects, Carmen began investing more directly in her own small portfolio of internet start-ups. Anticipating the merging of retail and e-commerce in the not so distant future, she began to look for a partner to take Cabus online.

However, no matter how hard she searched for a partner to co-found the type of company she knew would achieve viability in the long term, she was met with irresolution and individuals who felt entitled to higher valuations without prior proof of success. Carmen took this as a clear sign that the internet companies she was investing in had been valued incorrectly.

A fateful meeting with Natalie Massenet in 1999 led to Carmen becoming the co-founder and largest individual private shareholder of Net-a-Porter in 2000. This serendipitous meeting led to realization within Carmen: patience and correct timing sets the stage for the formation of a team with aligned principles. The motivation to risk her capital and prove the ideas at the core of Net-a-Porter’s success came from feeling like she had a true partner in Natalie. They both viewed Net-a-Porter’s success as a personal challenge, given the greater number of roadblocks female founders face compared to their male counterparts. Carmen believes that the bedrock of success for any company, at any stage, is the formation of strong partnerships.

CARMENBUSQUETS.COM

carmenbusquets.com was created from Carmen’s study of the Gurdjieff philosophy of life which she began in childhood, and has long since defined her principles. Her desire is to design a narrative and philosophy of life that transcends herself, the sole goal of which is to better enable people, regardless of gender, who choose to walk the hardest path and make a true difference, assisting them in reaching the self-actualization that’s key to success in all things.

For Carmen, success and happiness are defined by exercising her freedom and desire to experiment and take risks at every point in her life, without allowing age to be seen as a prohibiting factor.

By 2016 Carmen’s holdings and portfolio of niche e-commerce ideas had grown substantially. CoutureLab was closed in order to concentrate on offering in-depth support to the entrepreneurs whose companies she had invested in, which were growing rapidly, whilst simultaneously creating a greater impact by increasing her philanthropic commitments.

Through carmenbusquets.com Carmen has continued to back visionary founders from the fashion-tech industry intent on challenging outdated systems and fine-tuning their business models to adapt to customers’ digital lifestyles.

After 24 years of supporting start-ups, Carmen believes that good, disruptive ideas never die. Even if the experiment fails, the idea endures, as does the lesson one learns in the process. Whilst no longer investing in new start-ups, Carmen actively mentors progressive founders, entrepreneurs and investors, and hopes to inspire them to build a future where consumers are able to make more informed purchases and in which the value of owning things will take on more significant meaning.

As an independent female investor, Carmen understands the unique barriers facing female founder-entrepreneurs. She now devotes much of her time to mentoring female founders, assisting them in becoming the executive leaders they’re capable of being by imparting her advice on running sustainable and profitable businesses.

Carmen lends her leadership, advocacy, and vital resources to a number of non-profit organizations, helping them to partner with governments as well as public and private sectors so they can achieve long-term, sustainable impact.

As part of Carmen’s commitment to transforming the futures of disadvantaged communities in her native Latin America by increasing access to education, she works with Glasswing International – a non-profit that is present in Latin America, the Caribbean, and NYC. In 2018 Carmen joined Glasswing’s Board of Directors and helped to fund the launch of the organization’s first educational program in the US, aimed at integrating newly arrived migrant-youth into society. In September of 2021, Carmen was the honoree at Glasswing International’s Annual Gala and helped to raise $1.6 million to further their urgent work.

A member of the WWF-US National Council, Carmen promotes and raises funds to accelerate conservation projects such as Bhutan For Life. This innovative financing project will safeguard 5 million acres of protected land and wildlife over a span of 14 years. Having formed a strong personal attachment to Bhutan, Carmen is also part of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation advisory committee.