Rishi Tummala

Yale School of Management

“Entrepreneur blending data, technology, and innovation to solve complex problems and create lasting impact.”

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: At age 19, I was one of the youngest engineers at Apple.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of California at Berkeley, Computer Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Current: Founder & CEO @ Dataflare, Previous: Software Engineer @ Apple

The Yale School of Management is regarded as a purpose-driven program. What is your mission? How will your MBA at Yale SOM help you fulfill that mission? My mission lies in finding simple, elegant solutions to complex problems. There is an intrinsic beauty in breaking down challenges to their most fundamental parts and solving them with precision. Yale SOM will equip me with the strategic insight, global perspective, and leadership skills necessary to amplify these solutions and navigate the complexities of bringing transformative ideas to life on a large scale.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Yale SOM’s MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Yale SOM’s core curriculum stands out in the AI era because it’s uniquely designed to build leaders who can navigate the complex human and ethical challenges of transformative technology. Today’s managers are not just delegators; they’re strategic overseers of hybrid human-AI teams. The integrated curriculum at Yale SOM prepares leaders for this new era by training students to look at every problem from the perspective of all stakeholders, weighing the impact on businesses, individuals, and society at large. This approach develops not just technical fluency, but also the advanced ethical judgment and collaborative mindset essential for leading organizations through rapid change.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at Yale SOM? I am most excited about joining the AI Association because it provides a platform for the exchange of ideas among people from diverse backgrounds. While AI was once primarily a tool for automation, it has evolved into a technology that augments human capabilities across industries. Harnessing AI’s potential responsibly requires integrating technical, ethical, and business perspectives. The AI Association facilitates this collaboration, offering opportunities to learn from varied experiences and collectively develop innovative, responsible solutions that amplify creativity and impact.

What is your unique quality that will enable you to make a big contribution to the Class of 2027?
Relentless resourcefulness: from bootstrapping a profitable startup to inventing solutions that replaced whole manual processes, I thrive on solving complex challenges and building technology that creates social value. This entrepreneurial drive and collaborative spirit will make me a catalyst for innovation and impact at Yale SOM.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment is taking my startup from an initial concept to generating $1 million in annual recurring revenue within two years. Achieving this required competing with some of the largest companies in the world, leading a cross-functional team, and developing a complex yet flexible technology platform.

What do you hope to do after graduation? After graduation, my goal is to scale my startup by leveraging the unique advantages entrepreneurs have: the ability to move fast, learn quickly, and position themselves strategically within competitive landscapes where larger incumbents often struggle to adapt. I want to build on this agility to innovate continuously, create new market opportunities, and deliver solutions that reshape industries.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Yale SOM’s MBA program? Showcase a genuine commitment to purpose-driven leadership. Connect your experiences and impact to your professional goals. Highlight how you’ll harness Yale’s resources to amplify positive change and be specific about which aspects of SOM resonate with your values and ambitions.

DON’T MISS: MEET YALE SOM’S MBA CLASS OF 2027

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