I’m Akaash Ramakrishnan. I co-founded AdSkate and have spent more than a decade working across advertising, data, and AI—connecting technical possibilities with practical business needs.
I share the decisions and lessons behind that journey here, for people finding their own path into entrepreneurship and those looking to build something together.
Explore my story↓
ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM
CO-FOUNDERAt 18, I knew I wanted to start a company. The idea took longer. Education and agency experience gave me the context to recognize a problem worth working on.
After my master’s, I spent five years at GTB, the WPP agency handling advertising for Ford and Lincoln. Working on ads for both brands gave me a close view of how campaigns came together, how advertising data was structured, and where gaps in agency workflows created opportunities.
Advertising & dataAdSkate began with contextual targeting, taking shape through the Carnegie Mellon entrepreneurial ecosystem. As a co-founder, I worked closely with Shreyas Venugopalan, whose technical expertise complemented my agency experience. His contribution was instrumental in turning the early idea into a product.
Contextual targetingCustomers helped us see a more useful problem to solve. They already had ways to decide where to place an ad; they wanted more help understanding what to put in it. In 2023, we pivoted to creative analytics, applying our technology to the images, language, and sound within the ad itself.
Creative analytics & applied AIWe raised multiple rounds from angel and institutional investors to sustain the company’s development. Fundraising became part of the founder’s job: explaining the opportunity, earning confidence, and securing the resources to continue.
Angel & institutional investment
UNDERGRADUATE
MASTER’S
AdSkate analyzes image, video, audio, and text to help advertising teams examine what a creative communicates. It brings the visual and verbal ingredients of a campaign into a form people can explore and discuss.
Reviewing hundreds of ads by hand takes time. It can also make it difficult to spot recurring patterns and decide what to test next. The example below shows how a creative detail can become a useful question.
A sample homeware campaign.
Move from observation to a practical test.
A terracotta vase sits on a stone plinth, with no flowers or room setting.
“Less noise. More space.” suggests calm, but does not describe the product.
“Find your form” invites a click without explaining what comes next.
AdSkate was acquired by Brunner in 2026.
From wanting to start a company at 18 to seeing AdSkate acquired, this was a significant milestone for me. It was also a shared achievement, made possible by our team and the investors, partners, and customers who supported us.
Brunner had been a client before becoming our acquirer. We had worked on campaigns together, and the agency had seen AdSkate evolve through its pivot. That existing relationship gave the next chapter a practical foundation: experience working together and familiarity with the product.
Read the acquisition announcement
My experience sits between technical teams and the people using their work. I help turn business needs into product priorities, with an eye on what belongs in a real advertising workflow.
I’ve led go-to-market work, enterprise sales, and partnerships. Each calls for a different conversation: understanding a buyer’s priorities, explaining the product, or finding a reason to work together.
Building AdSkate meant working across disciplines. I care about giving people enough context to make good decisions and keeping product and commercial priorities in the same conversation.
Start with the human problem. Understand the workflow. Build for the decision someone actually needs to make. Technology earns its place when it makes that work better.
Conversations I’ve joined and hosted, reporting on the journey, and writing on technology and company building.
Podcasts, interviews & conversations
A conversation with Shiv Gupta and Myles Younger about AI-led shopping and what machine-readable creative means for marketers.
Listen to the episodeWith Matt Holjes, exploring simulated audiences, testing messages before launch, and the role of human judgment in marketing.
Watch the conversationA discussion of pre-campaign analysis, creative blind spots, and how audience understanding can inform campaign planning.
Watch on YouTubeHosting Myles Younger on audience modeling, creative testing, and the changing role of data in marketing.
Watch on YouTubeA conversation with Heidi Diamond about lean startups, focus, and building a business that can scale.
Watch on YouTubeHosting Kristin Taylor on brand building, digital skills, and the experience of building KT Winery.
Watch on YouTubeHosting Michael DiGiovanni on data collaboration and its possibilities for digital advertising.
Watch on YouTubeHosting Brett Norman on media, advertising, and how the industry is evolving.
Watch on YouTubeA founding-team discussion of programmatic advertising, streaming, and the future of digital marketing.
Watch on YouTubeReporting, contributed perspectives, and stories from the startup community.
A retrospective with the founders on listening to customers, changing direction, and building toward an acquisition.
Coverage of the acquisition and the addition of creative analytics to Brunner’s capabilities.
Steve Barnes reports on the acquisition in an agency industry news roundup.
Luis Rijo examines Brunner’s acquisition of AdSkate and its approach to pre-campaign analysis.
Coverage of the Brunner announcement, including comments on AdSkate’s next chapter.
Brunner’s announcement of the AdSkate acquisition and the founders’ perspectives.
John Ebbert’s interview about AdSkate’s approach to creative analytics and working across advertising platforms.
Comments on human-created content and authenticity in Victoria McNally’s reporting on AI in advertising.
An article on coordinating resources and government support for emerging adtech companies.
An interview with Atiya Irvin-Mitchell about using AI to support advertisers’ work and decision-making.
Mohammed Rayaan interviews the founders about contextual advertising and a future with fewer cookies.
Patty Tascarella’s reporting on the funding round and plans to grow the team.
Sophie Burkholder reports on Pittsburgh startups receiving investment, with comments on AdSkate’s growth.
University coverage of the alumni startup program, including AdSkate.
Writing about AdSkate’s proposed PGH Lab pilot with the city’s Financial Empowerment Center.
You don’t need a finished business plan to start a useful conversation. An early idea, a difficult question, or a shared interest is enough.
If you’re considering entrepreneurship, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned about finding a direction, raising funding, and building a company. If you’re exploring a collaboration in advertising, data, or AI, tell me about the problem you want to solve.
Connect with me on LinkedIn