A Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus is hoping to capture the heart of leading lady Jenn Tran on the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette” on ABC, joining 24 other men on the dating show that announced its rolodex of contestants earlier this week.
"The Bachelorette” contestant Jahaan Ansari.
Jahaan Ansari, who was described by ABC as an "extremely smart, successful guy," was included on Forbes' Food and Drink 30 Under 30 list last year after co-founding the supplement company Gainful with his business partner Eric Wu.
Gainful allows users to customize their protein powder regime to fit in with their physiology, diet and lifestyle using the help of an online quiz and registered dietitian.
As of last January, four years after launch, the company was pulling in more than $20 million in annual revenue and 3 million people had taken Gainful's quiz.
Ansari, who studied chemical engineering and computer science at the University of California Berkeley, built the algorithm that assigns custom protein formulations to customers (Wu created the formulas), according to the company’s website.
In his "Bachelorette" candidate profile, Ansari is described as a chess enthusiast with aspirations of becoming a pilot.
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“The NYC local will do anything for the people he loves and finds great joy in making people feel cared for and understood,” Ansari’s “Bachelorette” profile reads. “Jahaan is very close with his family and wants to start a family of his own someday with the woman of his dreams.”
How long Ansari lasts. Tran's season of "The Bachelorette" premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 8. Several competitors are usually eliminated in the first episode.
“The Bachelorette,” a spin-off of the long running series “The Bachelor,” sees 25 men compete to propose to the season’s leading lady. This season is the show’s 21st and stars Jenn Tran, a 26-year-old physician’s assistant student who made it to the final six in Joey Graziadei’s season of “The Bachelor.” Tran is the first Asian woman to ever lead the show. The entire Bachelor franchise has struggled with ratings over the last several years, and "The Bachelorette" has particularly declined in viewership since longtime host Chris Harrison was cut over controversial comments defending a contestant's past racist behavior. The last season finale of "The Bachelorette" drew 2.99 million viewers, the fewest ever for a season finale of the show. Viewership has steadily fallen since Season 12, starring JoJo Fletcher, aired in 2016. Fletcher and the season’s winner, Jordan Rodgers, were married in 2022. No other “Bachelorette” couple has tied the knot since. The last couple in the franchise to get married was Gerry Turner, 72, and Theresa Nist, 70, who starred in the first season of “The Golden Bachelor,” the most-watched show in the Bachelor franchise in years. The pair were married in a televised wedding on Jan. 4 and announced their divorce in April.