Womenture: Celebrating women in business

At SpinLab, we are proud to be a project partner of Womenture, a pre-acceleration program dedicated to empowering women in business. Today, we're delighted to share an interview with Barbara Niño, an inspiring female founder from Germany. 

Bárbara Niño is a senior graphic designer with a master's in integrated design and founder. After ten years working in various design agencies, studios, NGOs, and startups, Bárbara decided to take the leap into freelancing. She founded SKIN, a graphic design and branding studio that creates visual solutions for both small and big ideas. Bárbara also emphasizes that collaboration is at the heart of innovation and positive impact. This principle is central to the creative process and work culture at her studio. Bárbara is a long-term mentor at SpinLab, specializing in user interface design and branding. 

Inspiration from Female Role Models and the Challenges of Migration

Bárbara draws inspiration from other female founders, creatives, and artists for her work. These networks have been instrumental to maintaining a high level of motivation and enhancing her creativity. Despite these support groups, she also faced significant challenges as a migrant woman. She highlights that starting her own business as an international founder in the global north was particularly difficult. This experience posed major hurdles from which she was able to grow from and learn valuable lessons for her further entrepreneurial journey.

A Turning Point to Success

A pivotal success in Bárbara's career came when she was able to hire two talented designers for a project. Bárbara had long wanted to work with these designers, and the collaboration proved to be extremely successful. The partnership exceeded expectations, delighting clients and fulfilling a personal aspiration for Bárbara. This achievement marked a turning point in her entrepreneurial journey and reinforced her passion and commitment to her path. This experience emphasizes the impact that working in a collaborative and motivated team can have for entrepreneurs.

Guidance for the Past and Plans for Tomorrow

Reflecting on her path, Bárbara would tell her younger self that frustration is an unavoidable part of the process. This insight can guide many aspiring founders to navigate the challenges that come with entrepreneurship. As for Bárbara’s future, SKIN has exciting developments in the pipeline, including a redesign of their website, which will soon showcase their latest projects and expanding the studio’s portfolio to offer creative and design-thinking workshops.

Learn more about womenture here.

The article was co-written with Julia Alb.