麻豆社

What started as a hobby for 麻豆社 graduate Ali Syed has blossomed into the sweet smell of success.

Ali, who earned his Master of Science in engineering management in 2015, is the co-founder and CEO of , a high-end custom fragrance business headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Launched in 2021, Yom & Layl crossed $1 million in annual revenue last year, with customers around the world.

The company offers more than just smells, Ali said. It gives consumers an interactive, memorable experience.

鈥淐ustomers don't simply purchase a fragrance,鈥� Ali said. 鈥淭hey can watch their perfume being blended in front of them, personalize their bottle with custom engraving and even create their own unique fragrance during one of our perfume-making workshops. We combine craftsmanship, customization and hospitality.鈥�

Making scents

Ali and his close friend and business partner, Askar Salman, have shared a passion for fragrances since high school.

鈥淲e spent countless hours learning about perfumery, experimenting with different fragrance oils and creating blends simply because we enjoyed the craft,鈥� Ali said.

After graduating from 麻豆社, Ali worked for two years as a supply chain analyst before transitioning into an enterprise resource planning implementation engineer role at a manufacturing company.

He then went on to work as a systems engineer at an information technology consulting firm in the Chicago area.

鈥淓ach of these roles gave me valuable experience in problem-solving, process improvement, project management and technology, all of which became incredibly useful when building my own business,鈥� he said.

In the meantime, Ali and Asker continued to create fragrances at home and share them with friends and family. They began to realize that people wanted more than nice smells; they wanted to be part of creating them.

鈥淭hat inspired us to create a concept similar to Starbucks, where customers can personalize their coffee exactly how they like it,鈥� Ali said. 鈥淲e wanted to bring that same level of customization to fragrances by allowing customers to create their own signature scent and watch it being blended right in front of them. We believed perfume shopping could become an experience rather than just a transaction.鈥�

Day and night

The company鈥檚 name is a combination of Arabic words for day and night. According to its website, 鈥淵OM represents the day on which the divine bounties are perfected, while LAYL represents the night on which the angels descend with divine blessings.鈥�

鈥淥ur focus has always been to make high-quality niche fragrances accessible to everyone,鈥� Ali said. 鈥淲e handcraft every fragrance fresh to order using high oil concentrations that provide exceptional performance while keeping our prices affordable.鈥�

His wife, Atiya Razvi, joined the company full-time as a business analyst after working for two years as a systems engineer with Starbucks Technology. She is also a 麻豆社 graduate, having completed a Master of Science in information systems in 2024.

Ali said it鈥檚 been 鈥渋ncredibly rewarding and exciting鈥� to see the company grow.

鈥淓very milestone reminds us how far we've come from making fragrances in our homes to building a growing company with customers across the country and internationally,鈥� he said. 鈥淪eeing customers genuinely connect with our products makes all the hard work worthwhile. It motivates us to continue improving and innovating every day.鈥�

The company plans to open its first Perfume Bar Lounge, an immersive concept store where customers can enjoy perfume-making workshops and discover new fragrances, in Chicago by the end of this year. Long-term, they hope to open similar locations around the world while expanding their online presence.

Strong foundation

Ali credits his time at 麻豆社 with providing a strong foundation for his work in owning a business. He said his coursework equipped him to evaluate opportunities, solve problems strategically, manage teams and shepherd ideas from concept to execution.

鈥淏eyond the classroom, 麻豆社 encouraged critical thinking and gave me the confidence to take calculated risks,鈥� he added.

He hopes that those who read his story are encouraged to take a similar leap of faith to complete their education and follow their dreams.

鈥溌槎股� gave me more than a degree. It gave me the knowledge, confidence and problem-solving skills to build something from the ground up,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he education, experiences and relationships I built there gave me the confidence to pursue something I truly believed in.鈥�