G: You founded Ceremonia in a space that often lacks representation. What made you decide, “I need to build this”?

B: There were so many movements driving me in that direction. First, it was personal. I had spent over a decade damaging my hair—straightening it every day, bleaching it—until it was completely burned. I started to hate my hair, which was wild because I grew up with a hairdresser dad and had beautiful memories tied to hair care.

So I began questioning what in the hair category was making my hair worse, and I realized it was actually designed that way. Damaged hair is good business. Brands rely on filler ingredients like silicones and sulfates to give a fake sense of results—but over time, your hair is even more damaged, so you buy more.

What pushed me over the edge was discovering that the Hispanic community spends 46% more on hair care than non-Hispanics, yet we’re not represented anywhere—not in the brands, not in the campaigns, not on the shelves. That statistic didn’t sit well with me. I knew I was uniquely positioned to solve that problem.

G: That 46% number is staggering—but also unsurprising culturally.

B: Exactly. And there’s a real driving force as a founder when you not only identify a white space in the market, but also realize you are uniquely positioned to solve it. That connection to your “why” helps carry you through the inevitable ups and downs.

G: Your career hasn’t followed a traditional path. How have your tech and startup experiences—like Uber and Away—shaped how you build Ceremonia?

B: I think the through line is that I’m a builder. That’s why I’ve always loved startups—you’re constantly building, constantly fighting for your own existence. There’s no guarantee you’ll see another day. But if you’re wired like me, that urgency is energizing.

My career looks random—Uber, Away, my agency, now a haircare brand—but for me, it all connects back to questioning the status quo. I thrive in uncertainty. Ceremonia runs with an insane sense of urgency, and that’s something I learned in tech. At Uber, speed was everything. You didn’t wait for the perfect pitch or timing—you just launched and iterated.

That’s exactly how we launched Ceremonia. One product: our scalp oil. Everyone advised against launching with just one SKU, but I’d rather launch something differentiated and start learning from real customers than overinvest in a warehouse full of stuff no one wants. It’s all about speed, feedback, and evolving with your customer.

G: And letting the data and your community guide what comes next?

B: Totally. And I think people wait too long to talk about their ideas. They’re afraid someone’s going to steal them. But your business should be more defensible than someone overhearing it at a dinner party. Execution is everything. Ninety percent of it is showing up and refining the idea every single day.

I tell friends all the time—just start talking about your idea. Say it out loud. Energetically, it puts things in motion. Suddenly opportunities come your way that never would have if you kept it to yourself.

G: What trends are you paying attention to—across beauty, tech, or business strategy?

B: I mean, it’s hard not to say AI. It’s everywhere right now—people throw it into everything just to sound smart. But the era we’re living through is incredible. I feel lucky to have grown up seeing both ends of the spectrum—from calling your friend’s landline and asking their dad to speak to them, to now living in an AI-powered world.

G: What keeps you grounded?

B: I think the everyday grounding factor for me is my kids, my family. I was really afraid of building a family while also building a business, but it has actually been the greatest gift for me because it’s forced me to find that sort of daily balance—without it feeling like a sacrifice one way or the other.

The two most important things for me are my family and my company, my work. So I really feel like they’ve become the yin to each other’s yang.

And it’s hard work, because you don’t rest while you’re taking care of four small children. I have four kids that are four and a half and under. So it’s not restful, but it uses a completely different part of my brain. Somehow, it actually becomes recharging for my brain nonetheless—because it’s what keeps me grounded. It counterparts that CEO mode I’m in when I’m working.