talent.free | startup mafia research by slava solodkiy

research chapters

fintech · uk/europe

revolut mafia

the most prolific fintech alumni network in europe. tracking founders, operators, and investors who cut their teeth at revolut and went on to build the next generation of financial infrastructure.

$45B+ origin valuation

50+ alumni ventures

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proptech · global

wework mafia

from $47B peak to bankruptcy and rebirth. mapping the resilient network of wework alumni who pivoted into proptech, fintech, and cannabis ventures. includes adam neumann's comeback with flow.

$47B peak valuation

$2.5B flow (neumann)

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mobility · israel

gett mafia

the world's first profitable ride-hailing company spawned a disciplined network of operators. alumni now building in proptech (dwelly), mobility, and b2b saas with mckinsey-level strategic execution.

1,500+ cities served

2019 first profitable

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identity · ecosystem

global talent passport

exploring the intersection of global talent visas (uk, france, usa) and decentralized digital identity. research on talent-backed identity verification and cross-border credential portability.

3 visa programs

875+ community members

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research methodology

linkedin analysis

systematic tracking of alumni networks, career transitions, and co-founder relationships

crunchbase data

company and funding data verification, investor mapping, valuation tracking

media monitoring

techcrunch, forbes, bloomberg coverage analysis and press release tracking

public filings

sec filings, companies house data, official regulatory documents

about this research

startup mafias are the hidden engines of ecosystem growth. when talented operators leave a successful company, they carry with them playbooks, networks, and pattern recognition that seeds the next generation of ventures.

this independent research project maps these alumni networks systematically, tracking where talent flows after major exits, bankruptcies, and pivots. all research is published under creative commons and available for academic citation with doi identifiers on figshare.

the goal: understand how startup ecosystems actually propagate, beyond the founder-centric narratives.

slava solodkiy

chief believer · head of curiosity

fintech entrepreneur, researcher, and lecturer at wharton and insead. previously built arivalbank (regulated us digital bank) and life.sreda vc. holds global talent visas for uk, france, and usa.

cv/portfolio linkedin medium figshare