AdPurp Profiles: Hong Shi on Moving From Shanghai to LA and Finding a Home at AP

Hong Shi is one of those people who makes the Advertise Purple office environment even better just by her presence. I miss seeing her in the office and I think I’m not alone in saying she’s a key contributor to our awesome culture.

This is one of the interviews I was most excited about, due to the fact that I was able to learn quite a bit about her experience emigrating from Shanghai, China and the culture change in moving to Los Angeles back in 2015.

But beyond merely highlighting her journey across the world, I was able to gather some insights about how she’s grown both professionally and personally in the time she’s been working here for Advertise Purple.

I learned that the quarantine has been far from lonely for Hong. She has four cats! One of which was included in the photo at the top of the article. And she is happily married as well. I’m older than Hong and single, so like… as far as maturity goes I think she has me beat.

But anyway, let me do less introducing and just dive right into the interview.

Q: Hi Hong, tell me about where you’re from. When did you move to the United States?

A :I was born and raised in Shanghai, China and moved to the US for my master degree in USC back in 2015!

Q: What was it like acclimating to Los Angeles, and specifically going to school at USC?

A: Everything here in LA is so spread out that driving becomes a necessity. In my hometown, restaurants and grocery stores are within walking distance and public transportation is everywhere. The courses at USC required more collaborative input from students, which was something quite different for me.

Q: When did you graduate? What did you study and how did you find out about Advertise Purple?

A: I graduated from USC Price School in 2017. I studied Public Policy and then tried out several roles after graduation. I learned the concept of affiliate marketing through podcasts and believed it as a great industry to step in. Then I found Advertise Purple through Indeed.

Q: What was attractive to you about affiliate marketing?

A: The fact that affiliate marketing is literally everywhere (I’m on Dealmoon, Rakuten a lot) but I wasn’t aware before I learned more about affiliate marketing. That really amazed me and encouraged me to learn more about it.

Q: How has it been working at Advertise Purple? How do you feel about the team and its goals here?

A: It’s been a rewarding and fun experience working at Advertise Purple! Everyone is supportive and tries their best to deliver the best service possible to our clients. I also enjoy leading a team and supporting their goals to be a better version of themselves.

Q: Tell me a little bit about the process of getting your green card to work and live here?

A: I met my husband when I was studying in USC and we got married after I graduated. It was a long process to get the green card and there was tons of paperwork, but it all worked out!

Q: How have things changed since you started working here?

A: Even though we’ve grown significantly since I joined the team, our culture still provides the support needed for success.

Q: How would you describe the culture at AP?

A: Our culture fosters trustful relationships, focuses on personal development and promotes entrepreneurship, where we can take the ownership of our ideas.

Q: What is advice you’d give someone looking to work in marketing?

A: Stay curious. The landscape in marketing changes so fast; keep learning and taking advantage of the resources around us are great habits to cultivate!

Q: What do you do for fun?

A: Before COVID-19, I love exploring new eateries with my husband, now we enjoy playing with our 4 cats, yes, 4! We adopted 2 cats (Davy & Betty) in February this year and adopted 2 kittens (Salt & Pepper) a few weeks ago, and they are so adorable.

Q: How has it been working from home and quarantining these past few months?

A: Working from home has been good to me, especially when I don’t have to spend more than 3 hours every day on the freeway. However, I do miss interacting with the team in person and miss office dogs a lot. I’ve also been obsessed with Switch Ring Fit recently, which forces me to work out more.

Q: What is some advice you’d give to yourself from 2015, when you first moved to LA?

A: Mentoring is an amazing way to stimulate our personal and professional growth. I would urge my young self to find mentors and be part of it as early as I can! Advertise Purple also has a mentorship program, check it out here!

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Thanks Hong, I really appreciate your answers to these questions! Looking forward to seeing you again IRl sometime soon!