Expert DOJO is one of the most active international early-stage startup accelerator and venture capital fund in Southern California. We invest on average $50,000 in each of our startups and up to $1,000,000 of follow-on investment to companies who have demonstrated exceptional growth.   We help our companies get traction and scale faster than they could ever do by themselves. Since 2018, we have invested in over 260 startups globally to accelerate their growth. What makes us special is our focus on building visionary companies. If you can visualize your unicorn, you have a higher probability of achieving its full potential. That’s where Expert DOJO comes in. We invest in pre-seed and seed companies ready to scale quickly. Most of our startups are minority and female founded technology companies. However, we remain industry agnostic and invest in founders from all over the world and from diverse backgrounds.

EXPERT DOJO

Aghaz Investments

Aghaz Investments is an online investment advisor for Muslims and values-based customers to conveniently invest and save for their goals in a manner consistent with their beliefs.

Aghaz is an automated investment management platform that targets the Muslim population in the US. To align with Islamic parameters, the platform will not invest in ETFs that include alcohol-related businesses or companies with excessive debts. The company will also launch values-based investment products for individuals who wish to invest according to their personal values, such as equal rights and climate change. This way, Aghaz allows individuals to achieve their financial goals without sacrificing their values.

Retail investors demanding sophisticated passive investment strategies are looking for an edge.

Retail Trading Infrastructure

Aghaz is an automated investment management platform that targets the Muslim population in the US. To align with Islamic parameters, the platform will not invest in ETFs that include alcohol-related businesses or companies with excessive debts. The company will also launch values-based investment products for individuals who wish to invest according to their personal values, such as equal rights and climate change. This way, Aghaz allows individuals to achieve their financial goals without sacrificing their values.The platform can automatically create customized investment portfolios based on clients’ goals (e.g., setting aside funds for Umrah or Hajj, purchasing a vehicle or house) and rebalance the portfolios accordingly. Aghaz currently utilizes the portfolio management system Autopilot, developed by DriveWealth, a developer of cloud-based, API-driven brokerage infrastructure.The company charges a monthly subscription fee of USD 2 and an annual fee of 0.49% on account balances. The minimum account balance to open an account is USD 1,000.

Ellevest is a hybrid investment management platform that specifically targets women, with an algorithm that takes into account gender-specific factors such as career breaks, longer life expectancy, and income differences.Ellevest currently offers services under three categories: Ellevest Essential (at a monthly fee of USD 1), Ellevest Plus (USD 5 per month), and Ellevest Executive (USD 9 per month). All three offerings include portfolio customization, banking services (spending and savings accounts), access to human advisors, and on-demand learning for subjects such as investing, career, and money. Ellevest Plus is more costly because it handles retirement accounts for clients. Meanwhile, Ellevest Executive handles both retirement accounts and investment management for multiple goals. The company also offers private wealth management services for clients who wish to invest USD 1 million or more through the platform. A dedicated advisor will work together with clients to create investment plans to meet their goals.Ellevest reported assets under management (AUM) of USD 1.4 billion as of December 2021, growing 44% during the year.In April 2022, Ellevest raised USD 53 million in Series B <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9622?industryIds=28">funding </a>co-led by BMO and Contour Venture Partners. The company planned to use the funds to expand its product offering and provide personalized coaching.

Ellevest

ComposedPro is a digital investment advisor that handles clients’ investment accounts at their employers (such as employer-sponsored accounts) as well as private investment accounts, focusing on low cost Employer-Coordinated Portfolios. The company oversees USD 25 million in total assets over 181 customer accounts as of the company’s Q2 2020 filing. ComposedPro manages half of the company’s accounts on a discretionary basis, meaning an investment advisor has the discretion to make buy and sell decisions for a client’s account. ComposedPro also has 46 non-discretionary accounts totalling USD 7.9 million in assets. The average investment account size is USD 138,222 placed across exchangeable assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), equities, bonds, and options.

ComposedPro

Guideline provides automated investment management services for employer-sponsored retirement accounts. The services also include plan set-up and administration, enrollment and education, recordkeeping, compliance with Retirement Income Security Act, and reporting.As of July 2023, Guideline had assets under management (AUM) of over USD 9 billion and over 350 employees. The company stated that it is the only provider that does not charge plan participants (i.e. employees) with any fees. Guideline charges the employers with a straightforward pricing of one flat fee per participant, in contrast to the asset-based fee model predominant in the industry (i.e. fee is charged on account balances). The standard service has a base fee of USD 49 per month and an additional USD 8 per participant. The standard service includes unlimited phone/email support to both plan participants and employers. For prime service, access to a dedicated account manager is available at a higher base fee of USD 129 and an additional fee of USD 8 per participant. In addition, the company stated that it has a low mutual fund expense ratio, at 0.08%. It purchases mutual funds from Vanguard and other fund providers.Funding and financialsIn June 2021, Guideline raised USD 200 million in funding led by General Atlantic. The company intends to utilize the funding to broaden its 401(k) offerings and introduce new retirement plan solutions.

Guideline

Based in Plano, Texas, AssetBuilder is a robo-advisory company that develops investment portfolios based on the Fama/French school of thought, using low-cost active index funds. It has Dimensional Fund Advisors (the eighth largest fund company in the world as of September 2019) as its funding partner. Human advisors are available to provide investing guidance. As of April 2019, the firm’s assets under management (AUM) amounted to USD 765.9 million. The firm’s business model relies on a fee-only structure, meaning a customer solely pays AssetBuilder to create and manage investments (the company does not receive product-specific commission). The minimum investment for AssetBuilder is USD 50,000 with an asset management fee ranging from 0.24% to 0.45%; the higher the investment, the lower the fee. Though the firm does not have a setup fee, it requires a custodial cost for setting up a portfolio of USD 11.95 per trade for each recommended mutual fund. Most of the platform’s portfolios require about 11 to 14 mutual funds, costing about USD 131.45 to USD 167.30 to open an account.

AssetBuilder

Based in Canada, Smart Money Invest provides portfolio management services to individual clients, advisors, and employers (such as group saving plans for retirement). Human advisors are available to serve individual investors.The company provides financial tools to develop a long-term financial strategy by calculating net worth, setting a budget, managing investment accounts, and planning for retirement.

Smart Money Invest

Robo advisory startups that offer automated investment services directly to individuals solely via digital platforms.

Robo advisory startups that offer automated investment services to individuals via both digital platforms and human financial advisors.

Provide solutions for financial advisors/asset managers to automate wealth management and administration functions.

Robo advisory startups that offer automated investment services to businesses via both digital platforms and human financial advisors.

Provides solutions for financial institutions to set up their own robo-advisory function and offer services to clients.

Startups that offer online platforms for investors to trade various securities such as stocks, ETFs, and options directly via the platform

Leverages AI/ML to automate allocation and management of investment funds to cater to retail investors

Operates a B2B SaaS model to support financial institution in offering various investment related services

Aghaz Investments

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