Slava Solonitsyn is a tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and ESG expert with more than 17 years of experience in designing and developing new products, mentorship, investing, and community building in Europe, the US, and Asia.
He has extensive expertise in launching and scaling up startups. His main areas of focus include hard tech, IoT, construction and sustainable tech. Slava is passionate about tech startups with a long-lasting impact. He is currently pursuing his own impact goal by advancing the construction industry through automation and 3D printing, but is also helping select founders, who have their own high-impact missions as an angel investor and advisor. He is intimately familiar with American and Singaporean markets, but is currently exploring the potential of SEA, LATAM and MENA as they will be the key drivers for the future of humanity (from the standpoint of population and impact).
Slava is a well-known global expert and is often invited to speak at the most important startup and global business events such as Collision and F.ounders. His unique experience in scaling complex startups, solving ESG problems, as well as his VC background, make him a highly sought-after angel investor.
Current occupation
Mighty Buildings
Slava is CEO and Co-founder of Mighty Buildings, a tech company that is revolutionizing the construction industry by creating beautiful, sustainable, high-quality homes by using advanced materials, patented 3D-printing technology, and robotic automation. Mighty Buildings has its headquarters in Oakland, California. Slava Starodubcev and Dmitry Starodubcev founded the company in 2017. Later, Russ Atassi and Rene Griemens joined the team to form Mighty Buildings.
Mighty Buildings, under the leadership of Slava, has raised more than $100 million and established itself as a leader for sustainable 3D-printed housing. Khosla Ventures and Bold Capital are among its investors. Core VC, Core VC, Core Innovation Capital, ArcTern Ventures and Core Innovation Capital are also among them. Mighty Buildings is also included in the top YC companies (5% of YC companies).
Solonitsyn describes Mighty Buildings as: “We are hard at work to find a solution to humanity’s double-edged climate crisis and housing crisis. Once we identify a path, we will be able to open our platform to real estate developers to unlock production of sustainable homes at scale”.
Mighty Buildings’s Impact
The construction industry and related building operations generate around 40% of annual global CO2 emissions, according to reports. But the world still needs more housing. Mighty Building believes it’s not an “either/or”. Mighty Buildings developed technology that can increase productivity and reduce construction-related emissions. It allows for virtually zero waste construction, a reduction in embodied carbon and the building of cost-effective zero net energy homes. These methods progress the company closer to its 2028 Carbon Neutrality goal.
Mighty Buildings is a member ASTM International and Sustainable Brands. Housing Innovation Alliance, Climate HUB and other organizations that address climate change. It has also committed to The Climate Pledge initiative by Amazon alongside more than 300 of the world’s most influential companies.
Ruvento Ventures
Another of Slava’s great achievements is co-founding Ruvento Ventures, a startup incubator and a seed capital firm in Singapore in 2012. Slava started with the incubation of 12 IoT startups, some of which raised follow-on funding and two of which were later acquired.
Between 2015 and 2017, while he served as Managing Partner, Slava raised a private fund and made 17 seed-stage investments, two of which grew into unicorn companies and two more of which crossed $500M in valuation. The fund he managed was able to bring in huge returns for investors (MOIC 3.7x). Two unicorn companies were among the ones he invested in: Boom Supersonic, which makes supersonic flight accessible in a sustainable manner, and Solugen, which brings clean, sustainable chemicals to all industries.
These days, Slava continues to serve on the Board of Ruvento Ventures as a venture partner, and is helping the firm to pursue an ESG agenda in developing markets, such as Southeast Asia.
Early career background
Slava’s career path started at game development company G5 Entertainment, where he led projects for Sony, Disney, and Electronic Arts. He was active in the development of Russia’s startup ecosystem since 2007. He designed a number of support measures including tax incentives for tech projects, which were later incentivized across more than 1000 startup companies.
Education, community services, and eco-activism
Slava graduated from Nizhniy Novgorod State Technical University named in R.Y. Alekseev (NSTU) in 2004 with an MSc in Physics. In 2007, he earned an MBA from Imperial College London, where he studied Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital. As a student, he launched several university initiatives and participated in various clubs. Upon earning his MBA, Slava focused on commercialization of technology, working closely with Imperial College scientists on commercialization feasibility studies.
Slava is completely committed to the cause of saving the planet. This commitment extends far beyond his work. Moreover, he actively promotes this mission by launching eco-friendly initiatives, such as beach cleanups. Via his Twitter account, Slava frequently shares useful articles, research, and personal insights on sustainable business, climate crisis response, and impact in proptech.
Slava is an avid kitesurfer, paraglider, surfer, and snowboarder. After learning Mandarin in China and Singapore, he adopted the nickname “Si Lei” (SiLei). He loves using this nickname in his interactions with people from all over the world.
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