VC · Futurist · Researcher · Doer
Vladislav (Slava) Solodkiy
I invested, research, build, launch and advise on fintech, compliance, digital & correspondent banking, digital identity, crypto & blockchain, CBDC and stablecoins, corporate innovations, AI-powered finance futures, emergent infrastructure — helping organisations & communities map and act on systemic change.
St.Peterburg State University, Moscow State University, Stockholm School of Economics (HSE, MGIMO, Wharton, INSEAD lecturer)
In Venture Capital Since 2012
Year(s)
Advisor, Mentor, Researcher | UK
Distressed Energy Assets → AI Data Centers | Dual-Use DefenceTech
ArivalBank.com: Board Member | SG, USA
Arival.com: compliance-first digital banking for international SMEs and expats. DeNovo licensed bank (USA, №IFE-065) - approved by the regulator as (ex-)director of Arival Bank International Corp. (SWIFT ARVBPRS2XXX).
Invested by SREDA VC, incubated by InspirAsia.
Banking On Blockchain | UK, SG
A collaborative initiative by Chis Skinner · David Brear · Symon Taylor · Thomas Labenbacher · Igor Pesin · Slava Solodkiy
SREDA Fintech VC Fund: Founder, Managing Partner | SG
Early investor: SumUp, digital banks (Simple, Moven, Fidor, Rocket, Arival), LP (Anthemis Group, Banking on Blockchain), Allset (a16z-backed), and many others, including my personal LP (Balaji Fund, AAL.VC, Libermans Co) and early stage (Anna.money) investments. Licensed as fund manager in Singapore (MAS, №CMS100662-1) and Malaysia (Bank Negara, №C/A0004/VCM/2017).
My role: research, scounting, portfolio management (client/pain/solution/product/development).
InspirAsia: Founder, Director (Mentor, Advisor for Startups) | SG
Fintech and blockchain accelerator, incubator and co-working space in Singapore. Including BASIS ID (aquired) and A.ID.
Mentor&Advisor: Maroo (YC/fintech), Allset (fintech/foodtech, a16z-backed), A.ID (Compliance), BASIS ID (KYC), Clos (AI), Ursa.ai (Robotics/AI), Exactly.AI
TechNation (UK), DigitalBoost (UK), Help to Grow (EnterpriseNation, UK). I publish books, reports and essays on banking, fintech, and national-scale infrastructure. I speak at Money20/20, Singapore Fintech Festival and other global stages, and mentor founders and policy (RegTech) teams.
Personal Recognition: Fintech & Banking
My research ::
Learning by doing ::
Digital Banking
Digital Identity
GovTech
RegTech
Fintech
De Novo License
Correspondent Banking
Bankers Bank
CBDC
Blockchain
Crypto
Stablecoins
BaaS / APIs & IFTTT
Compliance
AML / Sanctions / EDD
KYC / KYB / KYCC
Distressed Energy Assets
Sovereign Decentralized AI
Design Thinking
Ethical M&A
Books & selected publications
DOI, ISBN, ASIN
The First Fintech Bank Arrival - and other books and chapters
Money Of The Future - and other research, reports and papers
Startup Advisory & Mentorship
Speaking & contributor highlights: Money20/20 · Singapore Fintech Festival · Paris Fintech Forum · Forbes · CoinDesk
Keynotes & panels
Keynote-speaker at Money2020, Rise\MoneyConf, eFintech show, European Fintech Awards, Global Payment Summit, FinSpire, Singapore Fintech Festival, FinnovAsia, Fintech CEO Summit by IFC, Paris Fintech Forum, Global Venture Summit, Fintech Award LatAm, Dot Finance Africa, The Future Of Finance Summit, Future Of Finance, and many other conferences.
Contributor & media
Contributor for Forbes, TheNextWeb, European Financial Review, VentureBeat, CoinDesk, CoinTelegraph, The Asian Banker, TechInAsia, e27, DealStreetAsia, and other leading tech- and business media.
Mentoring & judging
Judge at Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SFF x SWITCH) in 2016 and 2019; Judge at India Fintech Awards 2019; Speaker and Judge at Future of fintech summit (23-25’May 2018, Beijing); Judge at Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list ‘2018 (Hong Kong \ SEA); Speaker and Judge at FinnovAsia ‘2017 (Hong Kong); Speaker and Judge at Fintech Awards LatAm ‘2017 (Miami); Speaker and Judge at Paris Fintech Forum '2017; Judge at European Fintech Awards '2016 (together with Michael Treskow from Accel Partners and Stefan Klestil from Speedinvest); Speaker and Judge at FINSPIRE 2016 (7-9 November '2016, Jakarta, Indonesia).
Advisor & mentor
Maroo (YC/fintech), A.ID (Compliance), BASIS ID (KYC), Allset (fintech/foodtech, a16z-backed), Clos (AI), Ursa.ai (Robotics/AI), Exactly.AI. Volunteer mentor: TechNation (UK), DigitalBoost (UK), Help to Grow (EnterpriseNation, UK).
Media & social reach (づ ◕‿◕ )づ
Selected posts >80k views; audience includes VCs, tech&business journalists, founders
LinkedIn · 20k+
Facebook · 10k+
X · 2k+
Medium · 1k+
MuckRack
Visiting the Samwer Brothers
invited Alexa von Tobel to Moscow
hosted Sir Richard Branson personally in October '2012 on SREDA.VC launch event
In June of 2013 I visited Tony Hsieh (and, my friend now, Jenn Lim) at Zappos HQ
“You have to invest in attention, it is the most expensive thing right now” – advice by Yuri Milner from DST
Influencers who share / repost
Brett King, Chris Skinner, David GW Birch, Simon Taylor, Marcel van Oost and others — network amplification across fintech thought leaders.
In discovery mode: open for collaboration in VC, PE, banking, fintech, compliance, blockchain startups and corporates
Partner / CEO's Advisor / Board Member / Head Of Innovation & Corporate Changes / Corporate VC & Accelerators
Available for advisor or mentor roles //
::
- portfolio management
- (de novo) banking & fund licencing
- new product/market launching
- M&A development