Before becoming the founder of SugarBomb,
Ahmad Azhari Rosli
began his journey far from the fragrance industry.
From 2010 to 2014, Azhari pursued a Master’s degree in
Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
His years in the UK became an important period of personal development.
While completing his studies, he also worked as a cleaner supervisor from
2013 to 2014, balancing academic responsibilities with the realities of
working abroad.
It was an experience that exposed him to responsibility at an early stage
of his career and helped shape the discipline, resilience, and determination
that would later become important qualities in his entrepreneurial journey.
Despite his academic background in engineering, Azhari eventually found
himself drawn towards business.
In 2015, he joined JOM SHIPPING and became
a National Distributor in Malaysia. This marked his early transition from
an engineering background into entrepreneurship and gave him direct exposure
to business operations, distribution, customer behaviour, and the challenges
of building a market from the ground up.
During this period, Azhari met one of his future business partners while in
the United Kingdom. Their discussions eventually turned towards the fragrance
industry, particularly the strong commercial potential they saw in perfume
products.
For Azhari, the opportunity represented more than simply entering another
product category. It was an opportunity to build something of his own.
The idea required him to step outside the career path traditionally associated
with his academic qualifications and enter an industry that was completely
different from aeronautical engineering. Rather than allowing that difference
to become a limitation, he approached entrepreneurship with the same mindset
of learning, problem solving, and continuous improvement.
In the same year, Azhari became a co-founder of
Elliadore Perfumes, beginning his first serious venture
into the fragrance business.
The early years of entrepreneurship became a period of learning and adaptation.
Building a business required a different kind of education, one shaped by
real decisions, challenges, responsibilities, and the constant need to
understand both the market and the people behind it.
For Azhari, becoming a founder was therefore not a single defining moment.
It was a progression of experiences that began with studying abroad, working
while completing his education, exploring distribution, recognising an
opportunity, and eventually having the courage to pursue an entirely
different industry.
When Elliadore Perfumes evolved into SugarBomb in 2017,
Azhari entered a new chapter of his entrepreneurial journey.
His role also evolved.
As the organisation developed, his responsibility was no longer limited to
establishing a business. Leadership increasingly meant setting direction,
making difficult decisions, developing people, strengthening the organisation,
and creating an environment capable of supporting long-term progress.
His engineering background continued to influence the way he approached
challenges. The discipline of analysing problems, understanding systems,
and finding practical solutions became relevant in an entirely different
environment. Combined with the commercial experience gained through his
earlier ventures, it helped shape his approach towards building and leading
an organisation.
Throughout the journey, Azhari has remained closely connected to the realities
of entrepreneurship. His own beginnings taught him that progress is rarely
immediate and that building something meaningful requires patience,
adaptability, consistency, and the willingness to continue learning.
This perspective also shaped the way he views leadership.
For Azhari, leadership is not simply about holding a position at the top of
an organisation. It is about carrying responsibility for its direction,
creating opportunities for people to develop, and ensuring that the
organisation continues to move forward with purpose.
His journey from an aeronautical engineering student in Bristol to an
entrepreneur in the fragrance industry represents an unconventional career
path, but one defined by a consistent willingness to take on new challenges.
It is a journey built through
discipline, resilience, curiosity, calculated risk, and the courage to
pursue opportunities beyond the expected path.
Today, Ahmad Azhari Rosli continues his role as the founder and leader behind
SugarBomb, carrying forward the same entrepreneurial mindset that began with
a decision to step beyond what was familiar and build something from the
ground up.
The Founder
The Journey Behind the Founder
