Ashutosh Kumar - Jha — CEO

I am the General Partner & CEO at Expert Dojo, one of the most active VC fund & growth accelerator based in California. I leverage my strategic expertise to maximize the performance and growth of our investments. I oversee a rigorous audit process immediately post-investment, working closely with founders to identify key growth opportunities and implement customized business strategies. My responsibilities extend beyond ensuring optimal returns; I also foster innovation and resilience within our 300+ portfolio companies, continually enhancing our overall investment decisions. Additionally, I am an angel investor at HBS Angels and serve as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR), Investments for the Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. Here, I execute the investment series, cultivate relationships between HAE founders and investors, and focus on community building. With over five years of entrepreneurial experience and a background in computer science, management, and finance, I have built a robust foundation in the business world. Growing up in a family involved in the construction and real estate industries ignited my passion for entrepreneurship. I founded a cement e-commerce company in India, where I was responsible for formulating strategies, supervising execution as a CEO, leading a team of 20+ people, and overseeing operations. My ability to generate innovative ideas and optimize processes, combined with strong research, analytical, and problem-solving skills, has equipped me to navigate the diverse challenges businesses face daily. Furthermore, I have actively advised startups globally across sectors as a Venture Advisor with accelerators and venture capital firms. #VentureCapital #Startup #Entrepreneurship #VC #Innovation #Strategy

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Venture Capital expert with a strong focus on startup growth and investment strategies.

Location: Santa Monica, California, United States

Experience: 8 yrs 3 mos

Skills

Venture Capital
Investor Relations
Fundraising
Strategic Partnerships
Business Planning
Team Building

Career Highlights

Led strategic initiatives for over 300 portfolio companies.
Expert in building decentralized funds for innovative startups.
Strong background in venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Work Experience

Expert Dojo

CEO (8 mos)

General Partner (1 yr 7 mos)

Partner & Head of Portfolio (9 mos)

Chief of Staff & Head of Strategy (6 mos)

Senior Venture Associate (5 mos)

VC University

VC Fellow - Cohort 14 (4 mos)

Harvard Business School HBS Alumni Angels Association - HBSAA

Angel Investor (Member) (2 yrs 8 mos)

VC Lab

VC Fellow - VI Cohort 1 (2 mos)

HBCUvc

VC apprenticeship (3 mos)

Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur In Residence (EiR) (3 yrs 2 mos)

Chartered Member (4 yrs 5 mos)

FasterCapital

Venture Advisor (11 mos)

Harvard Innovation Labs

Venture Program Fellow (1 yr 7 mos)

Newchip Accelerator

Venture Advisor (1 yr 2 mos)

cemX

Founder & CEO (2 yrs 11 mos)

Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR)

Delegate (1 mo)

Mother Teresa Missionaries of Kolkata

Volunteer (1 mo)

Knockstarter

Co-Founder (5 mos)

MIT Bootcamps

Delegate (0 mo)

European Innovation Academy

Delegate (3 mos)

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

Data Analyst Internship (1 mo)

Toastmasters International

Vice President of Membership (1 yr)

Education

at Harvard University

at Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM)

Ashutosh Kumar - Jha

CEO

Santa Monica, California, United States8 yrs 3 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Led strategic initiatives for over 300 portfolio companies.
Expert in building decentralized funds for innovative startups.
Strong background in venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Venture Capital expert with a strong focus on startup growth and investment strategies.

Contact

ashu.startup@gmail.com LinkedIn

Skills

Core Skills

Venture CapitalInvestor RelationsFundraisingStrategic PartnershipsBusiness PlanningTeam Building

Other Skills

AIAlgorithmsAnalytical SkillsBusiness DevelopmentCommunicationData AnalyticsData ScienceDeal SourcingDue DiligenceFinancial AnalysisFund ManagementInvestmentsLeadershipMachine LearningManagement

About

Experience

Expert dojo

5 roles

CEO

Jul 2025 – Present · 8 mos

As CEO of Expert Dojo, I oversee all operations and strategic initiatives.
Focused on building decentralized funds globally to empower innovative startups.
Committed to making a global impact by investing in exceptional founders.
Foster a collaborative environment that encourages entrepreneurial growth and success.

General Partner

Promoted

Aug 2024 – Present · 1 yr 7 mos

As General Partner at Expert Dojo’s India-Dedicated Fund, I focus on empowering startups to expand and grow.
I provide strategic investment to help companies penetrate both the Indian and global markets.
Collaborate with entrepreneurs to develop tailored growth strategies that align with their vision.

Partner & Head of Portfolio

Promoted

Dec 2023 – Sep 2024 · 9 mos

As the Partner and Head of Portfolio at Expert Dojo, I leverage my strategic expertise to maximize the performance and growth of our investments. I oversee a rigorous audit process immediately post-investment, collaborating closely with founders to identify key growth opportunities and implement customized business strategies. My role involves not only ensuring optimal returns but also fostering innovation and resilience within our 300+ portfolio companies and improving the overall investment decisions internally.

Chief of Staff & Head of Strategy

Promoted

Jun 2023 – Dec 2023 · 6 mos

Heading the overall strategy of Expert Dojo, which includes both investment and growth programs, team management, new hires, and overseeing overall operations by working closely with Managing Partner and CEO, Brian Mac Mahon.

Senior Venture Associate

Jan 2023 – Jun 2023 · 5 mos

Expert Dojo is the most active international early-stage VC fund cum accelerator based out of Southern California. We invest from $50,000 up to $1 million in each of our startups.
My role at Expert Dojo includes - Deal Sourcing and screening startups based on our investment thesis. Assistance with ongoing due diligence for early-stage and occasionally growth-stage startups, diving deeper into financial and business models, crunching numbers, and assisting the GPs in making investment decisions. I also help Implement strategies for investor relations, portfolio management, and investor management.

Portfolio ManagementVenture CapitalInvestor RelationsDeal SourcingDue Diligence

Vc university

VC Fellow - Cohort 14

Sep 2023 – Jan 2024 · 4 mos

Got selected with a 100% scholarship for VC University Cohort 14, which is a joint initiative by Venture Forward, National venture capital association (NVCA), and Berkeley Law Executive Education (UC Berkeley).

Harvard business school hbs alumni angels association - hbsaa

Angel Investor (Member)

Jul 2023 – Present · 2 yrs 8 mos

The Harvard Business School Alumni Angels Association (HBSAA) is a forum for Harvard Alumni and other participants who are interested in investing in early-stage companies on an individual basis. Harvard is the number one school attended by startups that raised $100 million or more, according to TechCrunch. HBS is the number one business school for entrepreneurship with more than 1,300 entrepreneurs and nearly 1,200 companies that combined have raised in excess of $39 billion, according to Poets & Quants.

Vc lab

VC Fellow - VI Cohort 1

Jul 2023 – Sep 2023 · 2 mos · California, United States

Selected among the top 10% of applicants for The Venture Institute Cohort 1 by VC Lab to receive training as an emerging VC.

Hbcuvc

VC apprenticeship

Feb 2023 – May 2023 · 3 mos · California, United States

The HBCUvc provides students with venture capital skills training, mentorship, and the opportunity to build professional relationships with seasoned investors and entrepreneurs. The HBCUvc Venture Capital Clinic leverages the Fellows’ training and empowers them to fuel high-growth entrepreneurship on campus by giving them a real-world investing experience that bridges the theory and practice of venture capital.

Harvard alumni entrepreneurs

2 roles

Entrepreneur In Residence (EiR)

Jan 2023 – Present · 3 yrs 2 mos

Executing the Investment series for Global Chapter by strengthening the HAE Founders-VC relationship. My responsibility is also to organize the Investment series with VCs, Angels, and Founders.

Chartered Member

Oct 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 5 mos

Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HAE) is dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship, the promotion of innovation, and the ideals of leadership and learning. We are a 501(c)3, volunteer-run, Shared Interest Group of the Harvard Alumni Association. Since our beginning, HAE has served as a meeting place for entrepreneurial Harvard alumni, students, faculty and staff.

Fastercapital

Venture Advisor

Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 · 11 mos

Fastercapital invest in startups from different industries (FinTech, EduTech, HealthTech, Entertainment, Media, Software, Ecommerce, Blockchain, and others) and stages (idea stage, MVP, Seed stage, Series A, and others) and we are country agnostic.

Venture Capital

Harvard innovation labs

Venture Program Fellow

Oct 2021 – May 2023 · 1 yr 7 mos

The Harvard Innovation Labs (i-lab) is a center for innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship at Harvard University. It is a place where students, faculty, and community members from across the university can come together to work on new ideas, develop new technologies, and launch new ventures.

Working with InvestorsFundraising

Newchip accelerator

Venture Advisor

Oct 2021 – Dec 2022 · 1 yr 2 mos

Newchip is the #1 online accelerator program with global reach, $1M+ funding & 1000+ graduates. Now accepting applications from scalable startups.
I have helped founders redesign the pitch deck, build a dream team, negotiate deals, and plan a marketing model. I have advised the founders globally with effective execution strategies and an accurate business model. I have also assisted a few startups in raising government grants & initial funding.

Venture CapitalStrategic Thinking

Cemx

Founder & CEO

Mar 2019 – Feb 2022 · 2 yrs 11 mos

cemX is India's first online platform with offline extension stores where a customer can buy cement of different brands available in the Indian market at the best competitive price. Anybody can order directly through our online platform or can visit the nearest e-store where our e-dealers are always eager to assist. For more information please visit www.cemx.in

Team BuildingStrategic ThinkingFundraisingStrategic PartnershipsBusiness Planning

Harvard project for asian and international relations (hpair)

Delegate

Feb 2019 – Mar 2019 · 1 mo · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Path: Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Mother teresa missionaries of kolkata

Volunteer

Nov 2018 – Dec 2018 · 1 mo

Team BuildingStrategic ThinkingBusiness Planning

Knockstarter

Co-Founder

Sep 2018 – Feb 2019 · 5 mos

Knockstarter is a highly curated community for budding entrepreneurs. We partnered with Nasscom 1000 startup warehouse, E-cell IIT Delhi, Nair Ventures, TheStartupLab, and many other brands.