Ankur Warikoo emailed a Princeton professor for homework help. 5 minutes later, he got a reply

What would you do if you were stuck on an assignment that seemed impossible to solve? For Ankur Warikoo, the answer was surprisingly simple: email the expert who wrote the textbook. During his PhD, Warikoo found himself unable to make progress on a difficult assignment. Instead of giving up, he searched for the author, found his email address and reached out. Five minutes later, a response arrived. The unexpected exchange became Warikoo’s first memorable lesson in cold emailing.

Ankur Warikoo took to social media to share the story of how he first discovered the power of a cold email. During his PhD, one of his professors assigned a problem that he believed no student would be able to solve. Warikoo admitted that he was completely stuck and did not even know where to begin. While looking through his textbook, however, he noticed the author's name. The person who had written the book was a Physics professor at Princeton University and, according to Warikoo, was expected to win the Nobel Prize.

Rather than treating the professor as someone unreachable, Warikoo decided to ask for help.

‘Why not ask him?’

Warikoo searched for the professor online, found his website and located his email address. He then sent him a message. What happened next surprised him. Just five minutes later, the professor replied and asked Warikoo where he was stuck. Instead of limiting the exchange to emails, Warikoo took an even more direct approach. He asked the professor whether he could come online on Yahoo Messenger.

The professor agreed. Warikoo was then able to ask his questions directly, while the professor patiently answered them. With that help, Warikoo eventually managed to complete the assignment.

Warikoo became the only student to solve the assignment

The story became even more memorable when Warikoo realised that he was the only student who had managed to solve the problem. His professor was surprised and wanted to know how he had done it. Warikoo explained that he had emailed the author of the textbook.

The response from his professor was disbelief. The professor could not understand why Warikoo had contacted such a prominent Physics academic simply for help with homework. But that unusual decision had worked. Warikoo described this interaction as perhaps “my first cold email.”

Why the professor responded to a stranger

The professor did not know Warikoo and, as Warikoo pointed out, had nothing obvious to gain from helping him. Yet he still responded. That experience appears to have shaped Warikoo's view of reaching out to people. Instead of assuming that prominent experts, professionals or decision-makers will ignore an unknown person, he believes it can be worth asking.

The exchange also demonstrates that a cold email does not necessarily have to begin with a complicated request. Sometimes, it can simply be a genuine question directed to someone who has the knowledge to help.

Ankur Warikoo’s lesson: Send that email

Warikoo's story eventually moves beyond his PhD assignment. He used the experience to encourage people to become more willing to reach out directly. His advice is straightforward: “Send that email. Send that message.” According to Warikoo, some opportunities will never appear on a job portal or in a LinkedIn post. They can emerge through conversations and messages that happen privately in people's inboxes.