Steve Riabov
Words from Steve
Hi, I’m Steve Riabov, founder of RISE GC (DBA of Musk Construction Inc.).
Working inside Bay Area homes, I noticed a clear pattern: homeowners were investing millions into properties that didn’t reflect their true potential. Outdated kitchens. Cramped bathrooms. Poorly managed renovations. Contractors overpromising, overspending, and underdelivering.
On job sites, I saw exactly what was missing — leadership, systems, accountability, and craftsmanship working together. I knew how to fix it.
That vision led me to become a licensed professional general contractor and establish RISE Construction — a full-service residential remodeling company serving Northern California.
We built RISE with one clear goal: to make remodeling modern, organized, transparent, and truly worth the investment.
I began my construction career in Ukraine at the age of 14, working on job sites during summer breaks. After graduating from construction college, I was ready to build something of my own. But when the war in East Ukraine destroyed my life, I was forced to start over.
In 2015, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area — a decision that changed my life. With just $500, I founded my first company, US Handyman LLC. Through discipline, craftsmanship, and a relentless work ethic, the company grew and succeeded.
Today, our team handles projects from concept to completion — delivering elevated spaces without unnecessary stress, delays, or inflated budgets, because Your million-dollar home should feel like one!
Interviews featuring Steve
Over the years, Steve has been featured in dozens of interviews, where he has shared different chapters of his remarkable life story — from a difficult childhood and professional education in Ukraine, to surviving war, captivity, and torture in his hometown of Luhansk after Russian invasion in 2014. After losing the life he had built in Ukraine, Steve set out on a wild hitchhiking journey across the globe — an adventure later described in his autobiographical book, Hitchhiking to a Million.
His path eventually brought him to the United States, where he became a citizen, fell in love with Silicon Valley’s “the future is born here” spirit, and started building his new life from the ground up. What began with handyman services, after getting general contractor’s license grew into a remodeling & construction company Musk Construction. Along the way, company Musk became a part of a wild story, covered by 40+ media outlets around the world! It was a rebranding story from MUSK Construction to RISE — covered by NBC Bay Area, the San Francisco Standard, USA Today, and picked up by media outlets around the world…
In these interviews, Steve talks about entrepreneurship, the ups and downs of building your own construction business, shares his experience and the mindset it takes to keep moving forward, despite harsh reality. He often says that life should be an exciting adventure and encourages to live it boldly, and brightly. If you’re interested to know more about Steve’s journey, you’re welcome to explore his website and the interviews below.
Steve Riabov
RISE GC business owner & CEO