Z47 Moments 229: What if my startup fails? | Ahana Gautam, Open Secret | UnStarted Ep2
Mar 5, 2026
32:53
Ahana grew up in Bharatpur, a small town in India where many believed girls shouldn’t always have the same opportunities. But her mother believed otherwise and pushed her to dream bigger.
That belief eventually took her to Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and later to Harvard Business School. But this story isn’t about degrees or credentials. It’s about resilience, grit, and the relentless pursuit of building something meaningful.
From taking bold bets to navigating failures, Ahana’s journey eventually led to building Open Secret - one of India’s most well-known healthy snacking brands today.
This conversation dives into the real founder journey behind the brand: the risks, the setbacks, and the determination it took to keep going.
But this isn’t just a success story, in this episode, Ahana openly shares about failed experiments, her mother’s contribution to her life and why she’s passionate about unjunking India.
If you're building a startup, thinking about entrepreneurship, or navigating early-stage chaos - this conversation will give you clarity on what truly matters.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: Growing up in Bharatpur & breaking glass ceilings
06:40 IIT, Harvard and Open Secret
16:12 Q1 - Leaving behind a job in US to startup
18:00 Q2 - How does Ahana deal with failures
23:17 Q3 - How does one maintain funding until profitable
27:30 From -47% EBITDA to profitable growth
39:00 Women-led manufacturing and leadership
43:30 Losing her mother during COVID and finding strength
About Open Secret
Open Secret is a better-for-you snacking brand focused on removing maida, trans fat and artificial preservatives from everyday Indian packaged foods. With strong repeat rates and rapid quick commerce penetration, it is one of India’s fastest-scaling health-focused FMCG startups.
Unstarted is built for 1 to 1 founders — people thinking about starting, or just getting started.
Real questions. Real answers. Real founders.
Have a question you want answered by top founders? Submit it here:
https://z47.com/unstarted/ask
Follow Z47
Website - https://www.z47.com/
Instagram - / z47.vc
LinkedIn - / z47-vc
That belief eventually took her to Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and later to Harvard Business School. But this story isn’t about degrees or credentials. It’s about resilience, grit, and the relentless pursuit of building something meaningful.
From taking bold bets to navigating failures, Ahana’s journey eventually led to building Open Secret - one of India’s most well-known healthy snacking brands today.
This conversation dives into the real founder journey behind the brand: the risks, the setbacks, and the determination it took to keep going.
But this isn’t just a success story, in this episode, Ahana openly shares about failed experiments, her mother’s contribution to her life and why she’s passionate about unjunking India.
If you're building a startup, thinking about entrepreneurship, or navigating early-stage chaos - this conversation will give you clarity on what truly matters.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: Growing up in Bharatpur & breaking glass ceilings
06:40 IIT, Harvard and Open Secret
16:12 Q1 - Leaving behind a job in US to startup
18:00 Q2 - How does Ahana deal with failures
23:17 Q3 - How does one maintain funding until profitable
27:30 From -47% EBITDA to profitable growth
39:00 Women-led manufacturing and leadership
43:30 Losing her mother during COVID and finding strength
About Open Secret
Open Secret is a better-for-you snacking brand focused on removing maida, trans fat and artificial preservatives from everyday Indian packaged foods. With strong repeat rates and rapid quick commerce penetration, it is one of India’s fastest-scaling health-focused FMCG startups.
Unstarted is built for 1 to 1 founders — people thinking about starting, or just getting started.
Real questions. Real answers. Real founders.
Have a question you want answered by top founders? Submit it here:
https://z47.com/unstarted/ask
Follow Z47
Website - https://www.z47.com/
Instagram - / z47.vc
LinkedIn - / z47-vc