He was the distinguished founder of the Schio Wool Mill bearing the same name. The son of the wool merchant Giovan Maria Rossi, he began his own practical experience in the wool industry at the Rubini factory, formerly Tron, in via Pasubio. His marriage in 1807 to Teresa Beretta, who was the daughter of a wool merchant related to the rich Bologna family, favoured the rise of a new textile enterprise with the creation of the Bologna & Rossi company in 1809, which later became the Rossi & Pasini company in 1818, and was taken over by Francesco Rossi in 1839.
Thanks to a consistent employment of capital, a careful policy on trade alliances, the quality of merino wool from Spain and the modernisation of machinery, Francesco Rossi was able to lay a sound basis for this modern company which was to reach the peak of its development with his son Alessandro.