Arianna Casadei, head of marketing at her family's namesake brand, Casadei, has her eyes set on the future of retail and technology. The 60-year-old, Milan-based luxury footwear business, which was started by her grandfather, has made a name for itself through its design and craftsmanship. And its "Blade" heel style has become well-known among footwear fans. "From a craftsmanship perspective, [the Blade heel] is so interesting, because heels are usually made of plastic, while here you have a stainless steel heel sole within it," Casadei said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. "With all of the trials they did throughout six months — the whole team was restlessly trying and trying, day in day out [to create the perfect heel] — when it came alive, it was like winning a championship or something." This year, Casadei is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the "Blade," which has been a bestseller since its inception. As part of the celebration, Casadei released a limited-edition wearable NFT, a first for the company. To develop it, the company partnered with web3 firm Another1, and it launched the NFT on Decentraland in September. Another area of growth for the brand has been through physical retail. Currently, Casadei has two brick-and-mortar stores in Italy and one in the U.K. And with the U.S. being a large online market for the brand, there are plans to expand its physical footprint to the states very soon. "We want to grow, from an omnichannel [perspective]. And we're looking at possible solutions [for providing] localized stock [in the 

As a partner at XRC Labs, a New York-based venture fund and startup accelerator, Diana Melencio is actively working to help underrepresented founders get the funding they need to run successful companies. The fund primarily focuses on retail technology and consumer goods. To date, the company has invested in some of the buzziest names in these industries, including The Lobby, Billie, Caraa and Wear.   "It's a business imperative to invest in underrepresented founders only because ... so much of the untapped opportunity isin those areas," Melencio said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. "It's not a marketing ploy or something that we're actively trying to skew our demographics for, but rather one that is grounded in the fact that there is a huge opportunity in investing in these types of founders." Melencio has only been with XRC Labs for one year, but her past experience on Wall Street prepared her for this role, she said. For 10 years, Melencio focused on investing in consumer retail and healthcare. She then founded two companies, one of which received an XRC Labs investment. Right before joining XRC Labs, Melencio ran WISE Ventures, an investment fund.   With over a decade's worth of experience in funding and retail technology, Melencio is excited about the future of retail and the new brands and founders that will arise as a result. "Consumers [want to] purchase a product anywhere and everywhere," Melencio said. "To me, the future store [is] everywhere, like a truly omnichannel experience."