A Day in the Life of Mio Akasako, VP of Brand & Design and Co-founder at Ash Wellness

Ash Wellness VP of Brand & Design Mio Akasako gave us a rundown of a typical day of reviewing OKRs and marketing strategy, developing virtual panels, and eating delicious croissants. Read more of our Day in the Life series here and here. 

[8:05am] On the days I work from home, I take a walk in the morning to sample one of the many croissants in the neighborhood. Today, I order a coffee and a croissant to-go from Bakeri in Greenpoint. Very flakey! 

[8:40am] My roommates and I have an indoor feral cat, Pickles, and an outdoor feral cat, Sickles. Sickles screams for attention at our backdoor. I feed them both. 

[8:55am] I open my Macbook at my desk upstairs. I check emails and industry newsletters. I especially like Out in Tech, Healthcare Brew, and HTN. 

[9:09am] I post an article from Healthcare Brew into our #newsfl-ash Slack channel, which we use to share industry and competitor developments. 

[10:00am] It’s early in the quarter, so the founders meet over Zoom to discuss OKRs and ‘manifestations’ — i.e. goals — for 2023. I hope to grow our team and expand the content and brand foundations we built this year. Our core content team at Ash is just Content Manager Mari Pack and I, so much of our marketing strategy has been influenced by limited manpower. (Ash prioritized expanding our product and engineering teams in 2022.) Last year, Mari and I built a routine, learned what to cut, and started to leverage partnerships. 

In 2023, I want us to get more creative with how we use data for creating content, generating sales leads, and building case studies.  

[11:20am] Take a break to pet Pickles. She does not allow herself to be picked up, so only pets.

[11:30am] Get started on my to-do list for the February Ash x Capable virtual panel, Bridging the Healthcare Inclusivity Gap. Who are leaders in healthtech that care about inclusivity? We have a list of potential speakers. I write a few emails to gauge interest. 

[12:05am] Eat something. Water my new rubber plant. 

[12:30pm] More virtual panel work. Start thinking through a marketing plan for January. We need half a dozen social posts, an Ash email sequence, and a graphic to feature both brands. Back when I was a neuroscientist, I never thought this would be my future job: figuring out exactly how many emails to send to get people to come to a virtual panel on equitable healthcare. Life has many twists and turns!

[1:40pm] Ping Mari to write copy. Get started on the graphic.

[2:00pm] Ash company-wide weekly Zoom meeting. Everyone turns their cameras on. Each team gives an update. Product presents a ‘Share Out’ deck with new details about our quick-launch portals. We go over some industry articles posted in the #newsfl-ash Slack channel. We finish the meeting with a round of shoutouts for Zofia Mita, Head of Client Success, who moves heaven and earth to keep our clients happy.  

[3:00pm] Take a look at our SEO audit. What keywords are we ranking for? Cross references with our Q1 blog pitches. 

[3:35pm] We’re launching a test kit that requires a new set of instructions. I review the copy, cross reference official instructions, and add graphics. Then, I walk through opening the test kit myself to ensure the instructions hold up. 

[4:15] Need to de-stress. Pet Pickles. 

[5:15pm] End of the day. I run to the gym. Workout. Run back. Pickles is a great de-stressor, but sometimes you need a barbell. 

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