Though he is best known for his investments in retail labels such as Tory Burch and, more recently, C. Wonder, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Christopher Burch is no stranger to failure. The fashion mogul dabbled in cod farming and learned the hard way that not every entrepreneurial venture succeeds. "It cost more to feed them than we could sell the cod fish for,” he said of the failed experiment.

Burch prioritizes vision over caution when it comes to investing in new businesses. "I don't care about safe investments," Burch said. "I care about things that change the environment, change the world, change the shopping experience."

Now in the process of launching nine other brands, Burch is a seasoned entrepreneur who sees opportunity, not limitations, in a weak economy. He believes in revisiting existing business models and systems and imagining how they might be reworked to achieve a superior result:

When you look at a drug store, it is broken. Why? The shopping environment is not good. They don't understand how to place products; packaging is not effective and beautiful. I'm using that as an example, but everything in the world can be much, much better.

Burch’s retail concept, C. Wonder, epitomizes this mentality. The whimsical apparel and accessories brand encourages shoppers to dance in the store—literally.

Click here to learn more about how Christopher Burch has grown as an entrepreneur and investor in Entrepreneur.