Appi Camper is an interview series that shines a spotlight on today's mobile elite, showcasing their expertise and knowledge. Growth leaders share trends, strategies to navigate the current market, tips to overcome present challenges, and how they approach these impacts to successfully emerge as an Appi Camper.
Spotlight with Ashley Fauset
Ashley Fauset is Vice President of Marketing at Maple Media, where she leads the Product Design and Marketing teams to grow a dynamic portfolio of mobile games, social, podcasting & productivity apps.
What role does gender play in our industry? What challenges have you seen and how have people overcome those?
While the gender makeup of the industry is shifting, the tech world continues to be dominated by men. It's imperative to make female voices heard, to stand by our experience, and to set a strong example for other women. I have two pieces of advice that I hold myself to and think are helpful for other women, despite their industry. 1) If you are interrupted while speaking, keep talking. If the other person continues to speak over you, tactfully point out the interruption. 2) Stop using the word "just". Right now. It diminishes the impact of what you're saying or asking. Be direct in your communication, not vague or unnecessarily apologetic.
What advice would you give to work best with other cultures and time zone challenges?
We are a very diverse team here at Maple Media, with team members dotted around the globe. I think among the team, we speak around 19 different languages. Knowing that English is not everyone's native language, I make a very concerted effort to communicate as clearly as possible. Adages, metaphors, slang & sayings don't always translate across borders, so I try to avoid using shorthand, especially considering the majority of inter team communication happens over Slack. I find it's best to be clear and concise for the best outcomes.
What does personal branding mean to you? Any tips for someone trying to build their personal brand?
I think personal branding is crucial. Establishing personal core values creates a framework to hold and keep yourself accountable to, while providing others an indication of how to interact & communicate with you, even what they can expect from you.
Establishing a personal brand is no different than any basic branding exercise. Ask yourself a few key questions—what are your personal values? What do you stand for? How can you develop your personal brand to align with your professional aspirations?
Consider your answers and start to cultivate ways to embody your values—how you present yourself to the world, how you carry yourself, how you make eye contact. Observe the way you communicate with others—the words you choose, the salutation in your email correspondence; the volume at which you speak, even the timbre of your voice. Nonverbal choices serve as cues to help others understand who you are, how to interact with you, and what you value.
And above all, be honest and sincere. Your branding should present who you are as an individual, and help you grow into the person you aspire to become.
When you’re not working, what hobbies or interests do you have? Do you track this on an app, if so which one?
Health is super important to me. I have been a dancer my entire life, but when my ballet studio closed during the pandemic, I took up running. Now I’m obsessed. It offers a beautiful juxtaposition of activity & meditation, which both wakes me up and clears my mind as I start my day. I track my daily runs on my Apple Watch, then use the Fooducate app to log my daily water intake & nutrients. Plus, Fooducate syncs with Apple Health and imports my exercise data, which makes it even easier to hold myself accountable.
