David Savage has spent almost two decades with global talent solutions firm Harvey Nash, but he鈥檚 perhaps become best known as the host of the Tech Talks podcast.
The podcast is ranked among the top 2 per cent globally and probes the minds of technology leaders.
Over the last decade, Savage has interviewed thousands of guests, from startup founders to executives at global corporations, whilst moderating and speaking at events including Web Summit, IFA Berlin, Collision, and Money20/20.聽
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However, his route into broadcasting can鈥檛 exactly be described as traditional.
A passion project
鈥淚 started this as a passion project on the side of my desk when I was a recruiter, and it just grew into my job,鈥� he tells 老九品茶Cloud at Web Summit in Lisbon.
鈥淎nd then six years ago, we wrote the job description, and actually codified what this is.
鈥淢y job is kind of part comms, part sales, part marketing.聽
鈥淔or a business like ours, if you’ve got a podcast like Tech Talks that has genuine reach and credibility, that opens doors for them that nothing else would.鈥�
Savage produces three episodes a week, speaks at around 10 conferences a year and estimates he interviews around 200 people annually.聽
He adds: 鈥淚 don’t lead with a sales piece, but if 5 per cent of them turn around and go, 鈥榊ou know what, we’ve got some talent issues. Could we have a chat with you?鈥� then that in itself makes sense in the business.
鈥淚t wins new business opportunities, but it also is soft positioning, soft branding and soft touch selling.鈥�
Slow burn
When Tech Talks launched in 2015, it didn鈥檛 immediately find its audience.
鈥淚t is a massively slow burn,鈥� explains Savage.
鈥淚 don’t think it really had any listeners for about six months when I first started.聽
鈥淭he growth of the audience has almost exclusively been through people being on the show and sharing that they are on the show
鈥淵ou do that for 900 episodes, bigger people come on and then, over time, it develops consistency and credibility.鈥�
That credibility, he says, has led to conference invites and gaining industry trust.聽
He continues: 鈥淭his is my eighth Web Summit. I’ve done three Web Summit Rios, I’ve done two Collisions, I’ve done IFA, two CES, Money20/20, TechBBQ, Tech Summit Dublin, to name a few.聽
鈥淵ou get put on stages with bigger names and it all self-perpetuates.
鈥淚t’s positive reinforcement – messaging that you’re credible, consistent, there, that you know people. It just elevates it over time.鈥�
Patrick Killeen and David Savage at Web Summit Lisbon
Sh*t beginnings
Savage believes persistence matters far more than polish when launching something new – a lesson learned through conversations with others in the podcasting space.聽
He points to David M. Brear, CEO of 11:FS, the consultancy behind FinTech Insider – once the UK鈥檚 number one business podcast.
Savage first interviewed Brear years ago, and the two now sit together on the advisory board of Started PR, founded by Kimberley Waldron.
Over dinner recently, Brear admitted he often wondered whether anyone really listened closely to what he said on his own show, to which Savage reminded him of their early conversation.
He explains: 鈥淗e told me that the first 10 of anything you do are going to be sh*t.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 start something, you鈥檒l never get past that.
鈥淚 still give that piece of advice to people today.鈥�
Imposter syndrome
Savage admits that confidence doesn鈥檛 always come easily, even after nearly a decade in front of microphones and on global stages.聽
He laughs about how often imposter syndrome still creeps in.
In interviews, he still finds himself questioning whether his answers ‘sound legit’ when he’s not been trained in the subject he’s talking about.
鈥淚鈥檝e never built anything in tech,鈥� he says. 鈥淵et there I was, standing up and telling the industry what it should be doing.鈥�
However, that鈥檚 where he believes the strength lies.
He believes storytelling can bridge the gap between complex technology and the people it affects.聽
Whilst AI is moving at lightning speed, he says humans remain the same social creatures who once gathered around campfires to share stories.
He explains: 鈥淚f you sit down, you story-tell and you get someone to connect with an idea, that鈥檚 different.聽
鈥淭hat skill set and that need is really important right now.鈥�
Stay relevant
Savage, not being in an entrepreneurial role, describes his career as something that鈥檚 constantly evolving.
He sees it as an agreement renewed year-by-year.
鈥淚鈥檝e always viewed your career as a kind of (thing) you basically sign on for a year at a time,鈥� he explains.聽
鈥淚f the company wants you and you want the company, it鈥檚 kind of like, 鈥榦kay, this works for them, works for you, works for me, so let鈥檚 keep going鈥�.
鈥淎ny role has a finite length of time and I鈥檝e been in the job for five or six years now.聽
At some point, the company will probably look at it and go, 鈥榠s this what we want?鈥櫬�
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So you have to question if what you鈥檙e doing is adding value – is it fulfilling, what happens next?鈥�
That mindset has led him to explore new topics that merge technology and lived experience.
He reveals that he has a genetic autoimmune liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSc) – something that has sparked his growing interest in healthcare and patient stories.
鈥淚鈥檓 thinking about what I can do to pull together stories from across tech and health, but also patient stories,鈥� he says.
鈥淚鈥檓 also increasingly interested in that narrative piece, that investigative piece – not pure journalism, but weaving together different stories.聽
鈥淵ou鈥檙e constantly going, 鈥榳hat can I do to improve this stuff? 鈥榃hat can I do to make myself relevant and to have a place where I鈥檓 adding value?鈥欌��
Hall of Fame
Asked for his favourite guests, Savage doesn鈥檛 hesitate. 鈥淚 always talk about what3words,鈥� he says.聽
鈥淲hen I first interviewed what3words, I hadn鈥檛 heard of them.聽
鈥淚t was quite early on in their story, and I interviewed Clare Jones, who at the time was their CCO.聽
鈥淚t was one of those moments where I thought the product was so good, but one of those where the idea is really simple and it can be applied in so many different ways.聽
鈥淚 also interviewed (former leader of the Liberal Democrats) Vince Cable.聽
鈥淚 sat down with him at his office and we talked and talked and talked.聽
鈥淚 just chatted to this guy who I’ve grown up watching. To sit and chat to someone like that who’s had all of that lived experience was brilliant.
鈥淚 just thought: 鈥業 don’t know how I’m in this situation, just having a one-on-one chat with Vince Cable in an office, but here I am!鈥欌��