What do you get when you pair an enzymologist with a marketing major after each spent a decade swiftly climbing their individual ladders in Corporate America?

An enormous bank account? A house in the Hamptons? Perhaps a timeshare in the Bahamas?

No. You get waffles.

Huh? Yes, waffles. And ones better than any you’ve ever tasted before.

Despite the comfort yielded by successful careers in the life-sciences and financial industries, respectively, Brian and Andrea Polizzi chose the unknowns of entrepreneurship while indulging their passion for food.

In 2013, the college sweethearts – they met the second day of freshman orientation at Penn State – founded Waffatopia, an online company that makes Liège-inspired, but American-made gourmet grab-and-go waffles.

Made with dough instead of batter, Waffatopia’s Liège waffles are a variation of the Belgian version. They’re caramelized, made with imported Belgian Pearl Sugar the size of golf balls, and can be enjoyed syrup-free. They’re also made in a variety of flavors, and are shipped fresh (not frozen) right to your doorstep.

In honor of National Waffle Day, the Polizzis will open their Waffary, located on Colwell Lane in Conshohocken, to the public today from 12-8 PM. Visitors are encouraged to stop by, enjoy a free waffle, learn about the creation process, and meet the team at Waffatopia.

Although the Polizzis launched their company three years ago, its genesis can be traced back to 2009, when Brian, then the Global Sales Director at PerkinElmer, discovered the Liège waffle while on a business trip to Belgium.

“In Brussels, I swear every 100 yards you’re tripping over a waffle maker,” he said. “I finally decided to try this Liège waffle. The taste was unbelievable. And what I liked about it is that, unlike in our country where waffles are a sit-down meal, it could be eaten as a snack on the go.”

With “these waffles marinating in my mind,” Brian was growing tired of corporate politics and the travel schedule. He was racking up 130,000 miles a year when he and Andrea decided to go all-in, transforming the traditional European street food into a unique, on-the-go treat in America.

Andrea quit her job at Vanguard in 2011 to begin business planning and recipe development. Brian followed two years later.

“Andrea moved very rapidly,” said Brian, 38, a native of Springfield (Delaware County) who attended Cardinal O’Hara High School. “She has this no-worries spirit, and didn’t think twice about it.

“Me, on the other hand, I was scared to death. I’d literally wake up with anxiety thinking about leaving PerkinElmer.”

When he finally gained the courage to do so in 2013, he gave his boss a month’s notice.

“He was like, ‘Oh, my gosh! Which of our competitors are you going to?’” Brian said. “I told him none of them, that I was going to make waffles. He didn’t believe it.”

The couple began making their waffles at the Artisan Exchange in West Chester, and selling them at farmers’ markets.

“That first year, we tweaked recipes, tweaked packages, tweaked prices,” Brian said. “Customers more often said yes than no. That’s when I realized that we had something.”

The Polizzis recently relocated Waffatopia to Conshohocken. In just three years of business, the company was twice named “Best of the Main Line and Western Suburbs” for Best Waffles by Main Line Today, has an active partnership with Victory Brewing Company, was featured on The Food Network, and was awarded Small Business of the Year by SCORE of Chester County.

Years removed from their last paychecks in Corporate America, the Polizzis’ future is brighter than it’s ever been.

And they have, of all things, waffles to thank for it.