Mary MacCarthy here – host of the Data Tea on Linkedin Live.
I launched the show shortly after starting as the first Data Advocate at Hightouch last February. My goal was simple: to host a show where I’d have frank conversations with people working in diverse roles in the data industry.
I wanted to find interesting and innovative voices and learn about their current work and the often non-linear career paths that lead to success in data. I also wanted to know: what does “success” even mean in this field?
Most of all, I wanted to ask them: what do they love about data and tech? What do they maybe hate about it? And how does that all relate to what’s happening in our lives and in the world, at this particularly chaotic and precarious moment in history?
Why I Started the Data Tea
A critic said to me: “Mary, that’s much too broad of a show. You need to narrow that down, fast, or you’ll never grow an audience.”
But–I stuck to my instincts. My view is that, in any industry, people crave genuine conversations. I knew that if I could book good guests, I could make a show that people wanted to watch. And fortunately, all of the guests have delivered. Week after week, they’ve graciously and unabashedly spilled the tea about their work, why they care about data, and what we can all be doing differently or better.
I’d like to express a heartfelt thanks to the thousands of you who’ve watched, shared, and commented on the Data Tea over the past six months. I’ve learned so much from your questions, and also I’ve also discovered new products, processes, and people (some of whom have then appeared as guests).
Many of you have asked if you could listen to the show in audio form, so with the help of my colleague Luke Kline, we’ll now be delivering the Data Tea as a podcast.
You can find it exclusively on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The first episode is my recent interview with data consultant and influencer Pedram Navid.
All upcoming shows will appear in podcast form a few days after we livestream on Linkedin. Over the next few months, we’ll also publish our backlog of interviews–making it easy to catch up on any episodes you may have missed.
Thanks to Our Guests, Our Partners, and to Hightouch
The purpose of this post is to announce the podcast, but it’s mostly a list of “thank yous” to the various people who’ve been instrumental in the Data Tea’s success.
First, thanks to the guests, for being willing to bring the tea–sharing their brilliant insights into data and analytics work, and their aspirations for the future of our field:
- Jessica Cherny of Ironclad
- Vin Vashishta of V-Squared
- Matt David of Datafold
- Dave Fowler of Atlassian
- Ben Rogojan aka Seattle Data Guy
- Emmanuel Acheompong of RoboMua
- Emma Dahl from Statsig
- Sadie St. Lawrence of Women in Data
- Nadine Merheb of the Chicago Bulls
- Mehdi Ouazza of Mehdio Data TV
- Mark Freeman of On The Mark Data
- Diana Hsieh from Correlated
- Bill Inmon from Forest Rim Technologies
- Chad Sanderson from Convoy
- Prukalpa of Atlan
- Joe Reis author of “Fundamentals of Data Engineering,”
- Mico Yuk from Count
- Brandeis Marshall author of “Data Conscience”
- Sarah Krasnik author of Sarah’s Newsletter
- Jacob Matson of Simetric
- Kevin Hu of Metaplane
- Kierra Dotson aka "the Data Conversationalist"
- and of course Data Influencer Extraordaire Pedram Navid.
I also have to thank Hightouch for sharing and supporting my vision that the most innovative and forward-thinking companies do more than just sell a product–they’re invested in leading an important conversation about our industry and how our industry fits into the world.
Finally, I’ll end this blog the same way I end every show episode–with a shout-out to our partner since the first Data Tea: an organization near and dear to my heart, Women in Data. They were instrumental in my own career pivot into data, and they support thousands of women around the globe who are seeking mentorship and upskilling to become data professionals. For every show, we make a $250 donation in the guest’s name to Women in Data’s scholarship fund.
If you'd like to be on the show, you can reach me at mary@hightouch.com.
