At A Glance

Founder Ben Perkins first had the concept for an “Under Armour dress shirt” when he was just in high school living in Southeast Asia. Spoiler alert: the teenager hit a financial wall and had to shelve the plan. A little older, a little wiser, Ben decides to revisit the idea as a college student in the US. You’ll want to learn how Ben turned a school credit project into &Collar, an E-Commerce company offering men formal attire that looks great at the office but feels and performs like what they wear to the gym.

Who is Ben?

Meet Ben Perkins, Founder of &Collar!

About &Collar

Inspired by uninspiring stains and hot commutes, &Collar is designed to suit the hard working man in the office, at the warehouse, or wherever life takes you. We have reinvented the white dress shirt. We have reinvented life's uniform. Our white dress shirts have been designed with a unique fabric that performs athletically. We boast moisture wicking and wrinkle resistant properties along with a four way stretch in our material.

Ben’s Entrepreneurial Journey

Ben traces his entrepreneurial journey back to when he was a young teen living in Southeast Asia. While Ben acclimated to the humidity, the introduction of Under Armour clothing was a game changer and he became obsessed with the apparel brand’s synthetic fabrics. “I wore Under Armour everywhere as a tall American kid in the streets of Hong Kong,” he remembers. Later in high school, he had the idea to translate moisture-wicking fabrics into dress shirts. Originally named Wicka-Sweat, Ben’s project, which was funded mostly by his parents, hit a wall due to minimum order costs.

Fast forward a few years, Ben is now going to college in the US and looking for ways to build up his resume. He decides to revisit his “Under Armour for dress shirts” concept and use it as the blueprint for a school credit. As his venture gains traction and begins to show potential, Ben realizes that Wicka-Sweat needs rebranding and forms an advertising savvy team made up of his sister and a few of her friends. In 2017, Ben officially launched &Collar, an E-Commerce menswear company.

&Collar is based in Salt Lake City, UT with a hybrid team of 20 people – about half work in-office and the rest are remote throughout the United States with 1 member living in the Philippines.

What excites Ben about the E-Commerce Space

Unlike most in his position, Ben believes that “people tightening up their purse strings” is having a positive effect on E-Commerce. He explains, “Brands and companies are being more efficient and taking care of their customers rather than trying to fill the top of the funnel with new ones. There’s a paradigm shift – let’s treat our existing customers like they are gold, because they in fact, are.” Ben goes on to highlight how AI agents, self-help tools, and widgets are improving the online shopping experience.

The CX Philosophy at &Collar

The CX philosophy at &Collar puts emphasis on empowering the customer. This means making the shopping process so efficient, seamless, and comfortable that if a problem should arise, the customer already has the resources and tools to solve it on their own. Ben elaborates, “We treat every ticket as an opportunity to have a great experience with Justin, Sarah, or Brian. But wouldn’t it be an even better experience if Justin never has to reach out to us in the first place? If he could find his order, or exchange or return an item on his own?” As a result, &Collar team members can prioritize, address, and find a resolution for the more complex tickets.

Going the Extra Mile for a Customer

Ben established early on that &Collar was going to take care of its customers. He recalls one story when a customer emailed on Thursday before his Saturday wedding to say that the shirt he was going to wear didn’t fit. “We had sub 5,000 customers so every customer interaction mattered. And we ended up driving a couple of hours to deliver his shirt,” he says. The effort paid off – all the groomsmen went on to buy shirts from &Collar. Describing this ‘waterfall moment’ for his very emerging company, Ben finishes, “it was the best possible way that we could have acquired new customers while making promoters out of existing ones.”

Topics of Interest

How Looking Outside the Company Fosters Innovation at &Collar

When it comes to fostering innovation in CX in the E-Commerce space, Ben has taken a unique approach, exploring potential ways that would move &Collar forward. He gives each employee $50 to shop online and in exchange, they share their customer experiences with other D2C (direct-to-consumer) companies. He explains, “When you’re going through that experience with a brand that you have no affiliation with is when you start to see how you can put all of these really good things together.” He finishes, “If we want to be an innovative merchant, then let’s go shop and see what others are doing.”

Business Growth Strategy: Reinvest Everything into Top-Line Growth

Ben is transparent – It can take years to see any profit when you’re building a business from the ground up. During the first years, all profit from sales were reinvested back into top-line growth. He remembers, “We grew like a rocket ship, but it just wasn’t sustainable.” Only within the last 2.5 years has the company experienced a balance between profits and reinvestment. With a solid business trajectory now in sight, Ben says, “we’re trying to build an actual foundation upon which we can build to $50 to 100 million in annual revenue.”
Expanding &Collar’s Presence in the US Market

A main business goal for Ben is to continue expanding &Collar’s presence in the US market. The dress shirt is a staple for men working in offices across the country and Ben believes they haven’t come close to realizing &Collar’s potential of becoming a go-to brand name. “We’re keeping our head down and trying to sell more dress shirts to Americans every single day.” He’s optimistic about international expansion, but only once they hit key goals for domestic sales.

Proactive Strategies for Dealing with Peak Season

&Collars experiences two major peak seasons—Black Friday and late summer, when demand for formal wear spikes due to weddings, graduations, and proms. To stay ahead of potential service delays, the company takes a proactive approach by informing customers in advance about how peak periods might impact their orders. Ben adds a personal touch when talking about supporting his team through the busy stretch: “We send them dinner every day—Chick-fil-A to keep them going and pizzas for their families,” he jokes, highlighting the company’s commitment to both customer satisfaction and employee well-being.

Main Goals: Reaching New Customers

When asked about his company’s top goals, Ben emphasizes a clear focus: “Our North Star metric is onboarding new customers.” Rather than growing the team, he’s prioritizing strategic investment in customer experience (CX). His approach centers on empowering customers through proactive communication – “oversharing information so they don’t have to reach out in the first place.” For those support tickets that do arise, speed is key. While automation plays an important role, Ben recognizes that in the world of CX, human touch remains irreplaceable.

Ben’s Advice for Aspiring E-Commerce Entrepreneurs

Ben’s advice to aspiring E-Commerce entrepreneurs is simple but powerful: “Just start.” He believes that action leads to the most valuable learning, far more than simply thinking or planning. With today’s accessible technology and tools, he sees this as an ideal time to launch an online business. “If you can set up a Shopify store and download a few key apps, you can deliver a really great customer experience,” he says. Ultimately, Ben reminds, it’s the market—not the founder—that decides whether a product or service truly resonates.