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.

He has extensive expertise in launching and scaling up startups. His primary areas of interest include IoT, hard tech, and construction. Slava is passionate about tech startups with a long-lasting impact. Slava is currently working towards his impact goal, which involves advancing the construction sector through automation and 3D printing. He also assists selected founders as an advisor and angel investor, helping them to achieve their high-impact missions. 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 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 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 is headquartered 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 included in the top YC companies (5% of YC companies).

As Solonitsyn describes Mighty Buildings: “We are working hard to find a solution for humanity to solve the double-edged climate 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 virtually zero waste construction, a reduction in embodied carbon and the building of cost-effective zero net energy homes. These methods help the company get 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 began with incubating 12 IoT startups. Some of these were later bought and others received follow-on funding.

Slava was Managing Partner between 2015 and 2017. He raised a private fund, made 17 seed-stage investments and two of them became unicorn companies. Two more were valued at over $500M. As a result, the fund he managed brought outsized returns to 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 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. Upon earning his MBA, Slava focused on commercialization of technology, working closely with Imperial College scientists on commercialization feasibility studies.

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. Slava regularly shares valuable articles, research and personal insights via his Twitter account.

Slava is a keen kitesurfer and paraglider. 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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