Social Currency with Sammi Cohen Babba Rivera (Ceremonia) on Making Business Personal, Winning Retail, and Convincing Investors to Bet on Latinx Communities
Dec 2, 2025
Babba Rivera, Founder and CEO of Ceremonia, a haircare brand celebrating Latin heritage, shares her inspiring journey from agency work to building a culturally-rooted business. She reflects on blending her Swedish upbringing with her Chilean roots, early beauty rituals, and tough lessons from leading teams at Uber. Babba discusses rapidly growing Ceremonia, securing funding during COVID, and how she turned marketing cuts into profitability. She emphasizes a community-first approach in beauty and the importance of supporting Hispanic consumer narratives.
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Culture As A Global Advantage
- Babba Rivera built Ceremonia to marry Latin rituals with modern haircare and global ambition.
- The brand positions culture as an advantage, not a niche, to appeal broadly.
Project X Became A Full-Time Bet
- Babba incubated Ceremonia inside her agency as "Project X" before committing fully and closing the agency.
- She time-boxed a plan, then shut other doors to focus on the brand.
Pre-Seed During COVID Panic
- Babba raised a $1M pre-seed after COVID delayed verbal commitments and funding withdrew.
- She launched production and brought the product to market within six months of closing the round.