Stories
Left job at 30, started business with mother's 2 lakh and built a 200 crore company
- •After studying at IIT Bombay and Harvard, Ahana Gautam quit her corporate job to pursue her entrepreneurial dream.
- •Ahana started Open Secret in 2019 focusing on healthy unjunked snacks with an initial investment of 2 lakh from her mother.
- •The company has now crossed an annual run rate of 200 crore and is growing at about 10 percent month-on-month.
- •Open Secret products are currently available in over 500 offline stores including major retailers like Reliance and D-Mart.
- •The founder's next target is to scale Open Secret to a 1000 crore ARR within the next three years.
Key Questions Answered
Ahana Gautam studied Chemical Engineering at IIT Bombay and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School before working for major corporations like Procter & Gamble and General Mills. Inspired by healthy snacking options she observed in America, she left her job at age 30 to launch Open Secret in 2019 using ₹2 lakh invested by her mother.
In July 2026, Open Secret raised over ₹50 crore, including ₹30 crore in primary equity from the Desai Brothers Group and the rest through institutional debt. The company's annual run rate has crossed ₹200 crore, it is profitable at the EBITDA level, and its operating revenue for financial year 2026 reached around ₹150 crore.
Open Secret is utilizing its latest funding to drive offline expansion, introduce new products, and integrate AI technology into its supply chain. The brand's products are already available in more than 500 offline stores like Reliance and D-Mart, and founder Ahana Gautam aims to reach a ₹1,000 crore ARR within the next three years.
