Inspired by the rituals she grew up with and fueled by her mission to enable representation for the Latinx community, Babba has seen tremendous growth with her startup in record time. Being one of only 58 Latinas to ever raise over $1M in VC funding, as well as the first Latina to own a hair care brand at Sephora that qualifies for the Clean + Planet Positive seal, Babba is a trailblazer within the founder community.
Prior to launching Ceremonia, Babba worked for unicorn companies including Uber and Away, and was named in Forbes’ 2016 “30 Under 30” list in the field of marketing and advertising. Babba has been featured and profiled in major magazines, newspapers, television programs, podcasts and various other print and digital media, gaining a reputation as one of the most dynamic and accomplished young innovators.
The biggest impact my heritage plays in my business is the sense of purpose that fuels my “why”. Running and scaling a business is a humbling experience to say the least, filled with unforeseen challenges and a constant need to adapt. Whenever it feels overwhelming I ground myself in knowing that what I’m doing goes beyond a good shampoo — it’s about putting Latin American culture on the world map to increase representation and inclusivity in the beauty space. Being the first is hard, because it means you’re walking a new or less traveled path that you have you pave out yourself. Knowing that Ceremonia’s success is ultimately a win for the greater Latina community fuels me with motivation to keep going when things get hard. It is my mission to make Ceremonia the beauty benchmark I wish I had when starting the brand.
That somehow, you’re constantly only getting started. The more you achieve, the more you realize how much more there is to achieve. For example, one might think creating a cutting edge product is the task, but once you’ve done that you realize you also need to crack distribution/sales. Then you sign with your dream retailer and think you solved it, just realize that the real work has only just begun — now you need to perform every day in a highly competitive environment. There truly is no time for learning when running a growth-business, you just have to learn while doing —building the plane while also flying it really fast. I guess what I’ve learned is that what you think is the task is usually not the actual milestone, eg entering a big retailer or closing a VC round are just means to an end and not the milestone in itself. The exciting part in all of this, however, is that as a founder you’re constantly growing and learning at a pace that’s completely unmatched to any other job. I’ve grown the most personally and professionally during these few years of Ceremonia. The journey has fueled me with conviction and confidence in knowing that there is nothing I can’t overcome.
I’ve realized that literally nobody knows anything, everyone’s just trying their best. In a market economy that’s constantly changing, I’ve come to learn that expertise/experience is only one part of the puzzle, but what sets good companies apart from great ones is usually some sort of founder magic. The passion for learning and growing that founders usually have is the secret sauce behind most successful startups. Founders who take it upon themselves to figure things out, versus outsourcing everything and hoping someone else will figure it out for them. Staying close to the details of your business and learning new areas is also a great way to overcome imposter syndrome, because the more you know the more you can fuel your own confidence bucket too.
Persistence. I truly live by Beyoncé’s words: a winner doesn’t quit on themselves.
Taylor Swift. I’m late to the swiftie fan club but I must say I’ve really come around to admire her on so many levels. As a business woman, a community builder and human being.
My kids. They’re my cornerstones in life. The Yins to my Yang.
After meeting the founders of Fazit I’m very excited about sparkle freckles!! It also doesn’t hurt that it’s a trend that’s been adopted by Taylor Swift ;-)
