Stani Kulechov
Born 1993 · Age 32
Finnish programmer, founder & CEO of Aave (originally ETHLend). DeFi pioneer, founder of Lens Protocol and Avara, active investor and mentor in Web3.
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Life & Career Timeline
Family bought a home computer
His father bought a computer for Stani and his brother which sparked early interest in computing and gaming.
Started building web pages with PHP
By age 12 Kulechov was building web pages using PHP and learning web development.
Dropped out of high school for a year to code
At 15 he took a year away from high school to focus on coding and built an experimental application to buy how-to guides online.
Returned to finish high school
Returned to complete his high school education after a year focused on coding projects.
Learned Ruby on Rails
As social media and web apps grew, he learned Ruby on Rails (framework used by early Twitter), expanding his web-application skills.
Enrolled at University of Helsinki (law)
Moved to study law at the University of Helsinki to explore legal aspects of finance and technology.
Discovered Ethereum and smart contracts
While at university he discovered Ethereum and began exploring smart contracts and DeFi's potential to automate legal/financial agreements.
Trainee at Castrén & Snellman
Worked as a legal trainee at Finnish law firm Castrén & Snellman (Jan–May 2017).
Early open-source contributions & community engagement
Ran community outreach, interviews and early DeFi education—positioning ETHLend/Aave as community-driven protocol.
Trainee at Bird & Bird
Worked as a legal trainee at Bird & Bird (Aug–Nov 2017) while still at university.
Founded ETHLend (later Aave)
Launched ETHLend, a decentralized lending protocol on Ethereum — one of the earliest DeFi lending DApps.
ETHLend ICO raised $16.2M
A few months after ETHLend's launch the project raised approximately $16.2 million in an initial coin offering (ICO).
Graduated University of Helsinki (Master's in Law)
Completed a Master's degree in Law at the University of Helsinki (sources commonly report graduation in 2018).
Worked on legal/academic activities (Pykälä ry)
Member of the Legal Aid Committee of the Law Students Association Pykälä ry during his studies.
Published master's thesis on tech & commercial agreements
Wrote a thesis on using technology to make commercial agreements more efficient (reported in profiles describing his master's work).
ETHLend evolves toward Aave plans
Transition planning and development continued to expand ETHLend beyond P2P lending toward a protocol model (precursor to Aave rebrand).
Aave became a DeFi anchor during 'DeFi Summer'
Aave rose to prominence during the 2020 DeFi boom, expanding users, liquidity pools and protocol features.
Aave deployed on Ethereum mainnet
ETHLend had rebranded to Aave (Finnish for 'ghost') and the Aave protocol was deployed on Ethereum mainnet in January 2020.
Introduced flash loans (Aave innovation)
Aave introduced flash loans — uncollateralized loans that must be repaid within one transaction — a major DeFi innovation.
Featured frequently in interviews & conferences
Kulechov emerged as a prominent DeFi thought leader, giving interviews and speaking at major conferences about decentralized finance.
Launched governance module and AAVE token (LEND→AAVE migration)
During 2020 Aave introduced governance features and migrated/introduced the AAVE token (governance & staking utility).
Reported Electronic Money Institution license (reported)
Reports state Aave received an Electronic Money Institution license from the UK's FCA around 2020 (source claims); timing/details vary by source.
Aave reached top DeFi TVL (~$10B)
In 2021 Aave was among the top DeFi protocols by total value locked (DeFi Pulse reported roughly $10 billion TVL).
Named on Cointelegraph Top 100 (multi-year)
Included in Cointelegraph's Top 100 figures in crypto for multiple recent years (noted in profiles up to 2023).
CoinDesk 'Most Influential' recognition (2021)
Named by CoinDesk among the most influential figures in 2021 for his role in DeFi and Aave's leadership.
Spoke at LisCon and hinted at decentralized social
At LisCon 2021 Kulechov discussed the evolution of social media and hinted at decentralized social graph ambitions that would become Lens Protocol.
Advocated decentralized social media
Used the Twitter suspension episode to emphasize decentralized social networks and user-owned data — leading to accelerated Lens adoption messaging.
FTX Ventures invested in Lens (undisclosed amount)
Lens Protocol received an investment from FTX Ventures prior to FTX's collapse in Nov 2022; the sum was not publicly disclosed.
Founded Lens Protocol (announced)
Kulechov founded Lens Protocol, a composable decentralized social graph built on Polygon (date cited as Feb 7, 2022).
Temporarily suspended from Twitter
Suspended by Twitter after joking he'd become interim CEO days after Elon Musk's acquisition; suspension lifted the next day (Apr 27–28, 2022).
Twitter ban lifted
Following a one-day suspension, Twitter restored his account; the incident became an example in debates about centralized social moderation.
Lens Protocol launched on Polygon mainnet
Lens Protocol transitioned from Mumbai testnet to Polygon mainnet in May 2022, enabling decentralized social features and developer composability.
Named CEO of Avara (reported)
Reported as CEO of Avara, the technology company stewarding Aave, Lens Protocol and GHO (Avara's role has been cited in public profiles).
Lens Protocol strategic funding reported ($31M)
Reports cite a strategic funding round for Lens Protocol raising about $31 million (exact timing reported in coverage of Lens' growth).
Avara acquired Family (crypto mobile wallet)
Avara (company stewarding Aave/Lens/GHO) acquired the crypto mobile wallet Family in 2023 to expand user tooling.
Aave deployed native stablecoin GHO
Aave launched its native, collateral-backed stablecoin GHO (deployed Feb 2023).
Profile published on Bitstamp (people profile)
Bitstamp profile summarizing Kulechov's role as founder/CEO of Aave and his DeFi thought leadership published June 14, 2023.
Expanded Aave multi-chain deployments
Aave expanded beyond Ethereum to operate across multiple blockchains, increasing protocol reach and user base.
Formed Sky Aave Force (partnership initiative)
Aave and another major DeFi DAO formed the 'Sky Aave Force' — a joint initiative for resource & incentive sharing across DAOs (reported 2024).
Major investments & mentorship to DeFi projects
Active seed investor and mentor backing projects such as Lido, Maple, Slingshot, Swivel, PoolTogether and others (ongoing activity across years).
Public investor count reported (~49 investments)
Reports indicate Kulechov has made roughly 49 public investments in crypto/DeFi projects across wallets and ventures (aggregated by on-chain/industry reporting).
AAVE market capitalization (reported ~US$4.75B)
AAVE token's market cap has at times reached several billion dollars; some reporting notes a market cap hovering around $4.75B (context varies by date).
Net worth reported > $250M
Profiles estimate Kulechov's net worth to be in the $150M–$250M+ range; some reporting (Coinpaper) places it above $250M in mid‑2025, largely from AAVE holdings and investments.
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