S 02 | Ep 14 From Armani to Regenerative Cotton : Federico Marchetti ’ s Vision for Responsible Fashion Federico Marchetti built the only tech unicorn in Italian history by doing something no one in Silicon Valley was thinking about in 1999 , putting luxury fashion on the internet . As the founder of YOOX Net - A - Porter , which eventually sold for nearly $ 6 billion , he spent two decades proving that creativity and technology are not opposites but essential partners . In this episode , Federico shares the origin story behind his company , from escaping a difficult childhood in Ravenna to studying at Columbia Business School and returning to Milan with nothing but a bold idea and one available venture capitalist . He opens up about the costly mistakes he made after merging with British rival Net - A - Porter , including waiting too long to restructure the leadership team and overcomplicating a technology migration that became , in his words , a bloodbath . Now in what he calls his second life , Federico advises King Charles III on sustainability through the Fashion Task Force of the Sustainable Markets Initiative , where he has championed practical tools like the digital product passport and regenerative cotton agriculture with Armani . He reflects on what he learned from both the king and the late Giorgio Armani about matching creative vision with decisive action .