Slava (斯雷) Solonitsyn
Slava Solonitsyn, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, is an ESG expert with over 17 years experience in the design and development of new products, mentoring, investing and community building in Europe and the US.
His expertise includes scaling up and launching startups. His main areas of focus include hard tech, IoT, construction and sustainable tech. Slava is passionate for tech startups that have a 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. While he is familiar with the American and Singaporean markets, he is now exploring the potential of SEA and LATAM as key drivers of the future of humanity (from the perspective of impact and population).
Slava is a notable global expert who is frequently invited to present and speak at the most prominent startup and global business events, such as Collision, F.ounders, Web Summit, and the World Economic Forum. 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 the CEO and co-founder of Mighty Buildings. This tech company is changing the construction industry by building beautiful, sustainable homes using advanced materials and patented 3D printing technology. 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.
Under Slava’s leadership, Mighty Buildings has raised over $100 million and established the company as a leader in 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 listed in the top 5% of YC businesses.
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. However, the world still requires 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 near-zero waste construction, reduction of embodied carbon, and building cost-effective zero-net energy homes. These methods help the company get closer to its 2028 carbon neutrality goal.
Mighty Buildings is a member of ASTM International, Sustainable Brands, Housing Innovation Alliance, SME climate HUB, and other institutions which 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 great achievement of Slava is co-founding Ruvento Investments in 2012, which was a startup incubator as well as a seed capital company in Singapore. 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. As a result, the fund he managed brought outsized returns to investors (MOIC 3.7x). Among the startups where he invested, there are two unicorn companies working towards high-impact goals: Boom Supersonic (making supersonic flights accessible in a sustainable way) and Solugen (bringing clean, sustainable chemistry to every industry).
Slava is still a member of the Board at Ruvento Ventures and serves as a partner in ventures. He also helps the firm pursue an ESG agenda for developing markets such as Southeast Asia.
Background and early career
Slava started his career at G5 entertainment where he managed projects for Sony, Disney and Electronic Arts. Starting in 2007, he took on an active role in developing the startup ecosystem in Russia. He developed a variety of support measures, including tax incentives for tech project. These were later used to incentivize more than 1000 startups.
Education, community service, and eco-activism
Slava graduated from Nizhniy Novgorod State Technical University named after R.Y. Alekseev ( NSU) graduated from Nizhniy Novgorod State Technical University named after R.Y. in 2004 with a 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. Slava worked closely with Imperial College scientists to complete feasibility studies for commercialization.
Slava is wholly committed to the mission of saving the planet, and this extends beyond his work. Slava actively promotes the mission through launching eco-friendly initiatives such as beach clean ups. 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). This nickname is a favorite of his in interactions with people from all around the globe.
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