Russell Smith
FounderFounder / CEO at 9 Mothers Β· Founder / CTO at Rainforest
Austin, Texas, United States
About
Russell Smith is the founder and CTO of Rainforest, an AI-powered testing platform for software quality assurance.
Founder / CEO at 9 MothersYC X26
Intro paths
YC
Russell went through Y Combinator (Spring 2026) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
GP
Their group partner at YC was Garry Tan, President & CEO of Y Combinator β the partner who ran 9 Mothers's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile β
β
In turn, Russell can intro founders to 9 Mothers's investors below.
9 Mothers's investors Β· 5
Co-founders at 9 Mothers
RK
Roman KhomenkoFounder
BP
Bogdan PyzhCo-Founder, COO
Founder / CTO at RainforestYC S12
Intro paths
YC
Russell went through Y Combinator (Summer 2012) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
β
In turn, Russell can intro founders to Rainforest's investors below.
Rainforest's investors Β· 10
AccelPalo Alto Β· $1.6M β $70M checks Β· since 2025Bessemer Venture PartnersRedwood City Β· $5M β $100M checksBonfire VenturesLos Angeles Β· $2M β $4M checksCrosslink CapitalSan Francisco Β· $1M β $9M checksFundersClubSan Francisco Β· $250K β $5M checksHeavybitSan Francisco Β· $500K β $5M checksMatrixSan Francisco Β· $100K β $10M checks Β· since 2025Storm VenturesPalo AltoTech Square VenturesAtlanta Β· $500K β $3M checks Β· since 2025Y CombinatorSan Francisco Β· $500K checks Β· since 2012
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Co-founders at Rainforest
FS
Fred Stevens-SmithFounder/CEO
Experience
- 9 MothersCo-Founder, CEOcurrent2024 β presentAustin, Texas Metropolitan Area
- Rainforest QABoard Membercurrent2022 β present
- Rainforest QACo-founder & CTO2011 β 2022San Francisco Bay Area
- Beyond Equity PartnersManaging Director2023 β 2024
- UKD1 LimitedCEO2007 β 2012London, England, United Kingdom
- Powder Blue LtdSenior Analyst2005 β 2009Winchester, England, United Kingdom
- AKA LtdLead Software Engineer2004 β 2005Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
- CWL LtdLead Software Engineer2003 β 2004Farnham, UK
- Serck Controls LtdSoftware Engineer2001 β 2002
Skills & more
Military Weapon Systems1Weapon Platforms1Linux22Performance Tuning5Scalability32Debugging4Debian5MongoDB36NoSQL6PHP46Ruby11Programming6
+12 more
Problem SolvingStart-upsCloud ComputingAmazon Web Services (AWS)LAMPJavaScriptjQueryWeb DevelopmentSoftware EngineeringSEOE-commerceSoftware DevelopmentLanguages English Β· French
- Preventing Workplace Harassment β Emtrain
- MongoDB Master β MongoDB
From Russell's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Russell Smith?
- Russell Smith is the founder and CTO of Rainforest, an AI-powered testing platform for software quality assurance.
- Where does Russell Smith work?
- Russell Smith is Founder / CEO of 9 Mothers and Founder / CTO at Rainforest.
- What companies did Russell Smith found?
- Russell Smith founded 9 Mothers, Rainforest.
- Where did Russell Smith go to school?
- Russell Smith studied at Y Combinator (P26, Military Technologies and Applied Sciences); Y Combinator (S12, Business/Commerce); University of Staffordshire (Bachelor's degree, Computer Science).
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia9,496
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Garry TanPresident & CEOFounded Y Combinator +1Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded Hotspots
+ 9,489 more
Y Combinator mafia5,145
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyGleb ChuvpiloAlumFounded Pager +4IanFounded Apex Technology +3
+ 5,138 more
University of Staffordshire mafia9
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Laduram VishnoiBachelorβs DegreeFounded Acquire +1Franck NouyrigatComputer Science and NetworksFounded Massive +1John GlasspoolBachelor of Arts (B.A.)Founded VarmXGilles PoupardinBachelor of Arts (B.A.)Founded WhydNg Yi YingBachelor (Hons)Founded AllSome FulfillmentSam LownBScFounded Invopop
+ 2 more
Rainforest mafia5
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Same school
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Ryan SheaCo-founder of Blockstack (Stacks)Suhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleArhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear VenturesAkshat GoenkaInvestor at Moonfire VenturesJon XuGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorChris GoldaGeneral Partner at Y Combinator
+ 1,994 more
Also attended University of Staffordshire23
Abdul GueforManaging Director at Intel CapitalDaniel WallmanGeneral Partner at Balerion Space VenturesJohn GlasspoolVenture Partner at Agent CapitalNajam KidwaiVenture Partner at Frontier VenturesGinnelle LimSenior Associate at Serendipity CapitalJulien FoubertInvestor at Rcube Asset Management
+ 17 more
Shared employers
Also worked at 9 Mothers2
Also worked at Rainforest QA9
Sam AwrabiFounder & Solo GP at Banyan VenturesHansae CatlettGeneral Partner at The MBA FundAllison PickensSolo GP Investor at Allison Pickens VenturesJim AndelmanCo-Founder and Managing Director at Bonfire VenturesFarlan DowellOperating Partner at Virta VenturesChris YinPrincipal at Scale Venture Partners
+ 3 more
