It's Babba's World
The success of the Swedish influencer and entrepreneur
From Sweden to New York, Babba C Rivera has the world at her fingertips. Winner of numerous awards throughout her career and founder of the companies bybabba and Ceremonia, a marketing agency and a hair care brand respectively, the influencer is everything—and more—than what we see in just a few seconds on social media.
With an impeccable aesthetic sense and a brilliant mind, Babba proves even more captivating during a good conversation full of truth and spontaneity. To learn a little more about the life behind her feed on Instagram, check out our interview with Babba C Rivera.
Lifestyle Mag: How did you start your marketing career?
Babba C Rivera: I studied international sales and marketing and fell in love with the philosophy of marketing from the start. Upon graduating, I was determined to apply my new marketing knowledge to new channels and began my career focusing on social media marketing. This was becoming increasingly important at the time, and most established marketers had no experience here.
After working at fast-growing companies like Uber and Away, I started my own brand marketing agency because I wanted to rewrite the playbook for the agency model and create a next-generation agency that would serve the unicorn brands of the future.
For me, the agency was the perfect entry point into entrepreneurship because it required no funding to start and also did not entail much risk.
The business grew organically, I had the opportunity to learn from my own mistakes and grow as a leader and entrepreneur. So when it was time to think about my next company, I immediately knew I was ready for a larger venture and was inspired by the many founders I worked with who raised venture capital to build their businesses.
LM: Fashion and marketing seem to be two of your greatest passions—how do you reconcile the two on a daily basis?
BCR: Fashion has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. My mother tells stories about how I, even at four years old, had such a strong sense of identity and wanted to choose my own clothes.
I started working at 14 alongside school to fund my passion for fashion, and I would spend time reworking thrift-store pieces to make them more stylish and then resell them on eBay.
Today, fashion is an important tool for me in how I present myself. It has the power to tell a story without words and, more importantly, the power to make you feel good.
I love using fashion as a tool for empowerment and to break down limiting beliefs about women, especially women in the workplace. My mission is to dress for myself, and for no one else, and to create a new narrative of what “professional attire” can be.
LM: Making the Forbes 30 Under 30 is a huge achievement—what was your first reaction?
BCR: I felt extremely honored and honestly quite surprised; however, I try not to fixate too much on external approvals, because we can’t control those things. I’ve learned that finding a sense of success and happiness really comes from within, and part of that is learning to enjoy the process. It’s a lens we choose to put on!
LM: Having been born in Sweden, what was the transition to New York like?
BCR: My life in Sweden feels very far away today, as I have spent the last eight years and most of my adult life in New York. However, when I moved to the United States, I remember feeling very lonely.
I didn’t know anyone and my boyfriend at the time (now husband!) traveled a lot, and to my surprise, it was difficult to make new friends at first because I spent all my time working.
I also recall going through some cultural clashes and unconscious biases. One thing I remember was receiving feedback at work about my frankness, which in Sweden is completely natural.
LM: What do you like most about New York?
BCR: I love the energy, the diversity, the space for growth and individuality that exists here. I can’t see myself living anywhere else; I love so many things about New York and it brings out my most creative side,
LM: What is your favorite restaurant in the city?
BCR: abcV in Manhattan and Colonie in Brooklyn.
LM: What do you miss most about your hometown?
BCR: My family and my sister. I’m very close to my family, so not having them around now is definitely the hardest part for me. I also miss the southern countryside of Sweden in the summer. It’s very special to me!
LM: How does your Latina heritage influence your personal and professional life?
BCR: Rituals have always been something deeply rooted in my upbringing. I have many memories with my family related to rituals — mainly beauty rituals.
My mother taught me from an early age the importance of self-care, and she showed it simply by practicing it herself.
She would unabashedly indulge in two-hour baths, and everyone in the family knew not to disturb her during that time! She also demonstrated it in the way she treated her skin and hair with nourishing products focused on hydration and care.
As I’ve gotten older, instead of fighting against the natural texture of my hair, I learned to embrace the hair I have and treat it well so it can be the best version of itself!
Through Ceremonia, I pay homage to my Latina culture because there is much to celebrate. From the powerful native ingredients of the region, to the rich rituals surrounding beauty as a form of self-care and self-love, not to mention the care that encompasses beauty as a whole.
LM: How do you maintain your creativity on a daily basis?
BCR: Inspiration surrounds us all the time, but to access it you need to learn to step out of the “doing” mindset from time to time. There will always be those days when you need to push harder, but it’s also important to allow space for downtime. That’s usually when my creativity kicks in.
Meditation is a great tool for that, as are screen-free mornings or a long walk with my baby. Skin-to-skin connection immediately calms me and makes me present. In general, disconnecting from my phone is my key to inspiring myself and maintaining creativity!
LM: Do you have any habit or ritual that you don’t give up?
BCR: My evenings are when I can have time for myself and enter into beauty rituals that help me relax and feel a spa sensation at home.
My favorite ritual is applying some of my favorite Ceremonia products to my scalp and following it with a gentle massage with our scalp massager to stimulate blood flow and help promote healthy hair growth.
Then, I put on our spa bandana and leave the oil on overnight for enhanced results, washing with shampoo and conditioner in the morning.
I usually combine this ritual with a facial mask; some of my favorites include the Tata Harper Clarifying Mask and MANTLE’s Dream Mask.
LM: Where did the idea to create a line of hair care products come from?
BCR: I felt a void in the market for a wellness approach to hair, along with the desire to increase Latino representation in beauty. For me, it’s obvious that the future of beauty is clean, sustainable, and inclusive, but most hair care brands on the market are none of those things.
The hair sector has been dominated by a style-meets-care approach, with a strong emphasis on celebrities and red-carpet looks. Ceremonia is disrupting this narrative through a hair wellness approach rooted in Latino heritage. Powered by natural ingredients from Latin America, co-created with our community, Ceremonia has a mission to redefine the hair aisle.
LM: Besides being a great professional, you’re also a super fashionista—can you give us a style tip you can’t live without?
BCR: Dressing for success is definitely a real thing. When you use fashion as a tool in your day-to-day, dressing with the goal of feeling good, it can make a difference. I love when my appearance makes me feel empowered and ready to conquer the world, versus a look that doesn’t feel comfortable or natural to me.
LM: What is your favorite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
BCR: A Carolina Herrera dress inspired by Mexican artisans. It’s one of those forever pieces.
LM: Lastly, is there anything people would be surprised to know about you?
BCR: I love cooking and I always cooked for my friends while I was studying—so much so that they started referring to my apartment as “Babba’s Bakery.” I love it!
