Rick Apichairuk

"If computers are bicycles for the mind, AI is an F1 car — but you still need to know how to drive."

Rick Apichairuk (ah-pee-CHAI-ruk) — RickAPI for short

What I've learned building systems, leading teams, and consulting independently.

After 15+ years as an engineer, CTO, and consultant — across companies like Bank of America, Live Nation, and Upwork, and through four firms I've founded — I share what I've learned about systems, software, and building a career on your own terms.

This site is for engineers, technical leaders, and consultants who want to think more clearly about the systems they build — and the careers they're building for themselves.

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Start here

If you're new, this is a good place to begin. These pieces represent how I think about systems, software, and building things that last.

Consulting & Career

→ Why I left the 70-employee consulting firm I founded to go solo. → Consulting isn't for everyone. Read this before you start. → How I made $500,000 USD consulting on Toptal in two years. → How I made $100,000 USD consulting on Upwork in less than a year.

Systems & Software

→ Modeling Reality — Dashboards are easy. Data models are hard. If the data model is wrong, no das... → Hybrid Stacks — Low-code and custom code can coexist without becoming brittle. The best syste... → Automation Without Structure — Speed amplifies chaos. Automating broken processes just creates faster failur... → When Systems Become the Bottleneck — Growth eventually stops being a product problem. At some point, the systems y...

AI

→ What Used to Take 5 Months Now Takes 6 Weeks → The Wonders and Challenges of Using AI — What I learned from using AI to develop SQL queries and schemas for productio...

Latest writing

What Is a Fractional CTO? Modeling Reality Hybrid Stacks Automation Without Structure
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Core Principles

1. Small wins stack

No silver bullets. Real advantage comes from small, consistent gains that compound. Big bets fail — wrong assumptions, front-loaded risk, feedback that arrives too late.

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2. Timing beats trends

I don't adopt technology because it's new. I adopt it because it creates leverage that lasts. Being early is optional. Being intentional isn't.

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3. Simple beats clever

Complexity looks smart. Usually it's hiding cost and fragility. If you can't explain it simply, it's doing too much.

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4. Truth beats comfort

I'd rather be right than polite. Hard truths now cost less than comfortable lies later.

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5. Craft over speed

I care about how it's built, not just that it ships. Cutting corners creates future problems.

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6. Years, not weeks

I think long-term. Short-term wins that damage reputation aren't wins.

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What I'm thinking about

I spend most of my time thinking about a small set of recurring questions:

This site is where I explore those questions.

About me

I'm Rick Apichairuk (ah-pee-CHAI-ruk) — RickAPI for short. A builder and systems thinker shaped by a range of technical and organizational environments. I've worked on everything from early UNIX systems and web engineering to leading teams and designing operational infrastructure at companies like Live Nation, Rent.com, Upwork, and Bank of America. I've founded and led software and consulting firms, implemented complex workflows with platforms like Monday.com, and developed hybrid systems mixing low-code with custom databases.

Across all of it, one pattern stands out: complexity reveals itself over time, and systems matter more than tools. This site is where I explore how systems evolve, how tools shape behavior, and how to build things that last — sharing what I've learned in public as I learn it.

I also write about the business side: how to think about consulting as a craft, how to position yourself, and what I wish I'd known earlier about building a sustainable independent practice.

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