Entrepreneurs Meet Marilyn Melo, The Model With an Entrepreneurial Mind
by Magdalena Munao / Written in Partnership with Thomas Herd
There exists an antiquated but common misconception that models are one-trick ponies, existing as beautiful creatures without anything deeper below the surface level. However, as social media has become an integral fixture of society’s day-to-day life, models of all kinds have been given the opportunity to display their interests, hobbies and pursuits, showing that beauty is so much more than just skin deep. One such model utilizing her platform to the fullest extent is Marilyn Melo, a Dominican stunner with a mind for business and philanthropy to match her beautiful features.
Since achieving success as a model and influencer on Instagram, where she boasts more than 800,000 followers, Melo has opened her very own hair salon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — the very same city she was scouted to model in back in 2017. Melo’s two-story boutique salon, Diosa, features top-of-the-line hair stylists and a luxurious atmosphere that’s perfect for her clientele to unwind and be pampered in, an ideal business venture for the demographic of her loyal followers.
Following the success of the salon, Melo then founded Diosa Beauty, an online retailer of beauty goods perfectly paired with the brick-and-mortar shop. Offering products from lip glosses in a dazzling range of shades all the way to high-end wigs and top quality bundles of hair, Melo’s store gives clients and her followers alike the chance to emulate their favorite Influencer’s envied beauty routine, shipped to their very front door.
While running these successful businesses is no small feat, Melo still devotes her time and energy to her family’s own charity organization, the Melo Rodriguez Foundation. Here, Melo helps provide assistance to impoverished children in third world countries through scholarships, donations, mentorship and more. After her own childhood experience in the Dominican Republic, the philanthropic work accomplished at the Melo Rodriguez Foundation is held particularly dear to Melo’s heart and is one of her most personally rewarding pursuits.
Though Melo undoubtedly will continue gracing the pages of magazines and of hundreds of thousands of Instagram feeds with her stunning modeling snaps, if her successful foray into the business world is indicative of anything, it’s that Melo certainly has plenty more entrepreneurial pursuits to look out for in the future.