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 primary areas of interest include IoT, hard tech, and construction. 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. 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. Slava’s unique experience in scaling complex startups and solving ESG issues, along with his VC background make him a 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 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. It counts among its investors such noteworthy names as Khosla Ventures, Bold Capital, Core VC, YCombinator, ArcTern Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, and others. 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 have identified a path, our platform will be open to real estate developers so that they can unlock the production of sustainable homes on a large 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 that it is not an “either/or” choice. Mighty Buildings has developed technology with the potential to unlock productivity to address the housing crisis while also reducing construction-related emissions. It allows for near-zero waste construction, reduction of embodied carbon, and building 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. 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.

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.

Early career background

Slava started his career at G5 entertainment where he managed projects for Sony, Disney and Electronic Arts. He was active in the development of Russia’s startup ecosystem since 2007. 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 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. He graduated from Imperial College London in 2007 with a MBA. There he also studied Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship. 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. 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. He learned to speak Mandarin in Singapore and China, after which he chose “Si Lei ” (SiLei) as his nickname. He loves using this nickname in his interactions with people from all over the world.

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