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 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. 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 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. The company was founded in 2017 by Slava and his business partner Dmitry Starodubcev, and later joined by seasoned executives Russ Atassi, Rene Griemens and Chris Murphy.
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 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 Building’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 that it is not an “either/or” choice. 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 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. 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.
Background and early career
Slava’s career path started at game development company G5 Entertainment, where he led 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 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. He was a student and participated in many 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. 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. He learned to speak Mandarin in Singapore and China, after which he chose “Si Lei ” (SiLei) as his nickname. This nickname is a favorite of his in interactions with people from all around the globe.
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