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."

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