Of Filter Coffee, Algorithms, and Building What Matters
The many lives of Prof. Rama Ramakrishnan, from IITM hostel corridors to MIT Sloan classrooms and billion-dollar boardrooms.
When you speak with Prof. Rama Ramakrishnan, it feels less like an interview and more like catching up with an old friend. He has that rare ability to toggle between the technical and the emotional, the philosophical and the funny, like a deeply thoughtful algorithm spiced with Madras filter coffee.
And perhaps that’s fitting, because everything in his life, from falling in love with Operations Research to actually falling in love on campus, is grounded in the very world that IIT Madras helped him shape.
The Timelessness of Talent (and Trees)
Ask Prof. Rama what remains unchanged about IITM, and his answer arrives without hesitation.
“The preeminent quality of IIT Madras is the incredible concentration of talent it brings together. When I think back to my classmates, they were some of the smartest, most curious people I’ve ever met, and I’ve studied at MIT, so that’s saying something.”
But the brilliance of the place wasn't just academic. For him, it was also visceral.
“You’d enter the gates of IIT Madras, and the temperature would instantly drop a few degrees. Everything was so green. You’d hop on your bicycle, ride past trees to class, that beauty, that coziness... It’s unforgettable.”
He pauses.
“I keep telling my kids, those four years were the best years of my life. I’m not complaining about what came after. But those years? They were magic.”
Insti Life: Pranks, Chai, and a Life-Changing Chai Stop
As a student, Prof. Rama lived the full IITM life, intellectually charged, socially vibrant, and, of course, steeped in quirky hostel humour.
“One thing that stood out was how curious everyone was. You couldn’t make a casual comment without it sparking a debate,” he says. “You don’t even say ‘Good morning’ without someone saying, ‘Well, technically not for everyone.’” He laughs. “And so much of that constant questioning came wrapped in brilliant humor. People were so sharp, so funny.”
His favorite hangout spots? Tarams, of course, for those legendary late-night bun-omelet runs and the old Quark canteen. But one little coffee stall near the Humanities Department, called Divya, holds special meaning.
“That’s where I first met Anu, my wife,” he says, smiling. “She was visiting her sister, my classmate Padma. I had a choice: go to class or join them for chai. I chose chai. It changed my life.”
It was also there, in a very IITM twist of fate, that he managed to impress her by introducing her to none other than the legendary Prof. V. Balakrishnan. Prof. Balakrishnan, unknowingly, had played Cupid in their love story.
From Equations to Executions: A Career of Many Turns
His career, much like his mind, refused to be boxed in.
“At IITM, I took an Operations Research course, and it was love at first lecture. I couldn’t believe something so beautiful and useful existed.”
After a Master’s at MIT, he paused his PhD plans to work at American Airlines, using math to solve real-world problems. But academia tugged at him again, and he returned for a PhD, only to later pivot to consulting at McKinsey.
That’s when he had two realizations:
1. He didn’t like being told what to do.
2. He didn’t want to merely advise; he wanted to build.
“I wanted to use math to create things. I realized the only way to be my own boss and build was to become an entrepreneur.”
And that’s exactly what he did. His most successful venture, CQuotient, a data-science-based personalization platform, was eventually acquired by Salesforce. Today, it powers Salesforce Einstein for Commerce, one of the largest recommendation engines in the world.
But even that journey wasn’t smooth.
When the Baby’s Too Pretty to Pivot
CQuotient started with big dreams: an all-encompassing machine-learning-based personalization platform for e-commerce.
“We had this beautiful, complex system. But two years in, only three companies had bought it, amazing companies, sure, but we just weren’t scaling.”
It was a painful moment. Then, his investors at Bain Capital Ventures gave him blunt advice: narrow your focus to just one thing..
“To me, that felt like saying, ‘Ignore your baby’s 99 talents and only show one.’ But we did it. We simplified our pitch and focused on email personalization: Pay us, try us, and if it doesn’t work, get your money back.”
That pivot led to an explosion in customers. “It was the classic hockey stick,” he says. “It taught me a huge lesson: what you love doesn’t matter if the market doesn’t want it. And sometimes, narrowing down is the smartest way to scale up.”
The company was eventually acquired by Demandware, and later by Salesforce, where Prof. Rama’s work became what is now Salesforce Einstein for Commerce, one of the world’s most widely used recommendation engines.
Teaching: Creating for Others, Expressing the Self
In 2019, after a successful exit from Salesforce, Prof. Rama returned to his other love, teaching. Now, as a professor of the practice of AI/ML at MIT Sloan, he focuses on the practical application of AI.
“Students don’t just want to learn the theory; they want to know how to build with it. I’ve done that. So I teach that.”
He believes the most fulfilling moments in life come from: “Doing something good for others that also expresses who you are.” He first heard this articulated by investor Patrick O’Shaughnessy and it instantly and succinctly captured his worldview.
Whether it’s building startups with mathematical elegance or explaining deep tech concepts to students, his work is equal parts head and heart.
Rapid Fire with Prof. Rama
- Coffee or tea? Coffee. Chennai filter coffee, of course.
- Morning person or night owl? Morning person.
- One app you can’t live without? Gmail.
- Hostel nickname? “Ski. Don’t ask why,” said Prof. Rama (even his in-laws still call him that.)
- Describe IITM in one word? Electric.
- MIT or IIT? (Long pause) “I’m going to pass on that.” (laughs)
Prof. Rama Ramakrishnan’s story isn’t just about a stellar career or academic accolades. It’s about listening to what excites your brain and following that joy, whether it’s building a billion-dollar platform or explaining machine learning to students with wide eyes and curious minds.
He lives, teaches, and builds by one simple principle:
“Create things that are useful to others, that expresses who you are.” And that, perhaps, is the best algorithm for a meaningful life, added Prof. Rama.
