Russell Wong
Fractional CTO for founders making high-stakes AI architecture decisions
Founder-CTO across 4 startups since 2014
2 acquisitions in 2025 (Remo.co → events.com · Redactive → RecordPoint) · $10M ARR Year 1 at Remo · Granted US patent
I help founders reduce technical risk and avoid expensive AI rework.
Based in Adelaide, working with founders globally. Maximum 2 fractional CTO clients at a time.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with founders and product leaders facing expensive technical decisions around AI product architecture, search, retrieval, agent workflows, and team scaling.
- Pre-seed / seed founders building their first serious AI product who need senior technical judgment before early technical choices become expensive mistakes.
- Series A+ companies adding a meaningful AI capability — RAG, search, agents, retrieval, workflow automation — without hiring a full-time CTO or head of AI yet.
- Non-technical founders who need a strong translator between product vision, engineering execution, and investor expectations.
Not a fit if: you need a contractor to write code at scale, a full-time employee, daily delivery management, or senior fractional support without budget for executive-level technical work.
TRACK RECORD
I've built, scaled, and shipped across product, ML, search, real-time systems, and engineering leadership.
Built Remo.co MVP and scaled to $10M revenue in Year 1 as CTO. 10x ROI for investors.
Built hybrid vector search engine for Redactive. Product sold to RecordPoint in 2025.
Continuous CTO with the same founding team through the pivot from Riotly to Remo (2017–2022).
Scaled engineering team across 4 time zones at Remo.co with 95% retention.
Granted US patent for interactive communications. CTO at Remo.co (acquired by events.com, 2025) and founding engineer at Redactive (acquired by RecordPoint, 2025).
SERVICES
I offer three ways to work together.
Architecture Review
3 weeks · A$25,000 · Fixed scopeA deep technical audit of your AI architecture and product direction. Deliverables include: current-state assessment, key risks, prioritized recommendations, and a written reference architecture for the next 6 months.
Designed to reduce technical risk before it becomes expensive.
Best for: founders who suspect their AI stack has problems, or who are about to make significant architecture, platform, or hiring decisions and want a senior second opinion.
Fractional CTO
From A$30,000/month · 2 days/week · 3-month minimumOngoing senior technical leadership without hiring a full-time CTO yet. Includes architecture decisions, technical strategy, hiring support, delivery oversight, investor / board support, and direct involvement in your highest-leverage engineering decisions.
Best for: founders who need consistent senior judgment and execution leverage at pre-seed through Series A.
Founder AI Advisory
A$6,000/month · Cash only · Limited scopeA lighter-touch advisory relationship for founders who want senior product and AI judgment without an ongoing operating role.
Includes:
- Up to 2 calls per month
- Limited async feedback on architecture, hiring, roadmap, and major AI decisions
- Review of specific decisions, not ongoing ownership
Best for: teams that already have technical leadership and want occasional senior judgment on a small number of important AI decisions.
Not included:
- Team management
- Sprint or delivery management
- Writing production code
- Hands-on implementation
- Full architecture audits
- Vendor evaluations done for you
- Investor diligence materials
- Emergency support or on-call help
- Slack-on-demand access
- Ongoing ownership of technical decisions
Not suitable if you need someone to run engineering, manage delivery, unblock your team daily, or build the system for you.
BACKGROUND
Founder-CTO and technical leader for 12+ years across multiple AI-native and social / communication startups.
Most notably: 5-year continuous CTO tenure with one founding team that pivoted from Riotly Social Media to Remo.co in 2019, taking Remo from concept to $10M ARR in Year 1 and scaling engineering from 2 to 22. Remo.co was acquired by events.com in 2025.
The granted US patent for Interactive Enhanced Communications (US11647064B1) is tied to the core interaction model behind Remo's virtual events experience.
Earlier: Co-founder & CTO at Six Avenue Ltd (Android / iOS social networking; named inventor on 4 published US patent applications). Co-founder & CTO at Wondrful (Rust + AWS + LLM-powered Chrome extension).
Most recently: founding engineer at Redactive (semantic search at 12M+ documents). The product was sold to RecordPoint in October 2025; the founding team continued as Quarterzip, developing a new agentic product line. I continued through the transition.
Relocated from Hong Kong to Adelaide in 2023 (PR via GTI). Used founding-engineer roles to immerse in the Australian startup ecosystem before launching this fractional practice.
MSc Information Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Published research on scalable affinity propagation.
Remo.co · Redactive · Quarterzip · Riotly · Wondrful · Six Avenue
PATENTS
Granted US patent from Remo.co. Also named inventor on 4 published US patent applications filed during prior ventures.
- Interactive Enhanced Communications
Adjusts the size and orientation of video tiles in real time based on facial tracking, so that subtle nonverbal cues — leaning in, tilting, nodding — show up in group video conversations.
HOW ENGAGEMENTS WORK
- You book a 30-minute discovery call (free).
- If we're a fit, I send a written proposal within 48 hours with specific scope, deliverables, timeline, and price.
- We sign a written agreement. 50% upfront for fixed-scope projects, 100% upfront monthly for retainers.
- Engagement begins within 1–2 weeks of agreement.
- Retainers: 60-day notice to terminate
- All scope changes require written change orders
- Maximum of 2 fractional CTO clients at a time
FAQ
Are you available right now?
I take 2 fractional CTO clients maximum. Availability rotates. Book a discovery call to check current capacity.
Why not hire a full-time CTO or head of AI instead?
A full-time senior CTO takes 3–6 months to find, costs A$300K+ per year in salary and equity, and you often can't tell if they're the right fit until 6 months in. A fractional engagement runs in weeks instead of months, at a fraction of the cost, with a clean exit if the fit is wrong. Once you actually need a full-time CTO, I can help you scope the role and hire well.
How is this different from a typical advisor?
Advisors weigh in on calls. A fractional CTO is in the room for the work — making architecture decisions, sitting on hiring panels, attending board meetings, and accountable for technical outcomes. Advisory fits when you already have technical leadership and want a sounding board; fractional CTO fits when you don't yet, and need someone to carry it.
What does an engagement actually look like?
For retainers: two days a week of deep involvement — architecture reviews, technical decisions, hiring calibration, async availability for blockers, and a weekly leadership rhythm with founders. For Architecture Reviews: three weeks of audit work delivered as a written reference architecture you keep. The shape adjusts to the engagement; the principle is the same — senior judgment at high-leverage moments, not delivery management.
Can you write code?
Yes, but I rarely should at my rate. I get involved in code for high-leverage moments only: architecture spikes, prototype validation, technical due diligence, or hiring calibration.
Do you take equity instead of cash?
No. Cash floor required for all engagements. Equity may be discussed separately in rare advisory situations, but never as a substitute for cash.
Can I talk to past clients?
Yes. After the discovery call, if we're moving toward a serious engagement, I'll arrange direct conversations with founders I've worked with. References are part of due diligence, not gatekept.
Do you work with non-AI startups?
Occasionally, when the technical challenge is interesting. My specialty is AI-native, but I've also shipped distributed systems, mobile products, search platforms, and scaled web infrastructure.
Are you available for full-time roles?
Not currently. I'm focused on a small number of fractional engagements while building my own product.
Where are you based?
Adelaide, Australia. I work remotely with clients globally, with occasional travel for kickoffs or major decision-making moments.
GET IN TOUCH
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© 2026 Russell Wong. Adelaide, Australia.