From teenage frustration in Hong Kong to multi-million dollar success in Utah

Picture this: You’re 14 years old, sitting in a porta-potty while your soccer team celebrates beating the #14 team in the nation, wondering what’s wrong with you for caring more about the team’s success than your own playing time. 

For Ben Perkins, that moment of vulnerability became the foundation of a business philosophy that would later build Utah’s 8th fastest-growing company.

But the real catalyst? Ten years of sweating through uncomfortable dress shirts from Hong Kong’s oppressive humidity to the Philippines’ missionary fields. That teenage frustration became &Collar, now generating over $10 million in annual revenue by solving problems billion-dollar companies ignore.

In our latest MountainWest Capital Network Podcast episode, Ben shares how his international childhood experiences, strategic thinking, and a willingness to learn from mistakes transformed a class project at Utah Valley University into a business that’s redefining performance dress wear.

From Asian Markets to Utah Entrepreneurship

Ben’s story begins with constant movement. Growing up across Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan before landing at Brighton High School for his senior year, he learned adaptability early. “Moving during senior year isn’t awesome,” Ben admits, “but I think that’s very helpful where I’m not scared of uncertainty or the unknown because it’s going to happen either way.”

Growing up across multiple countries gave Ben advantages most entrepreneurs never develop. The teamwork mentality prevalent in Southeast Asian cultures, combined with the customer-first service philosophy, became foundational to &Collar’s approach.

But the real catalyst was discomfort. Literally. Required to wear dress shirts in Hong Kong’s sweltering climate, Ben dreamed of combining Under Armour’s performance fabrics with traditional dress shirt styling. “I got preliminary quotes for the Under Armour dress shirt,” he recalls, “but my parents’ allowance didn’t cover MOQ [minimum order quantity].”

The Ten-Year Incubation

Unlike many entrepreneurial origin stories, Ben’s idea didn’t immediately become reality. Instead, it incubated for a decade. Through an LDS mission in the Philippines (more hot, humid dress shirt wearing), college soccer, and academic pursuits, the concept stayed alive.

The turning point came at Utah Valley University when professors assigned business plan projects. 

“What if I just do it for this idea that I had before?” Ben thought. Instead of analyzing Nike’s marketing strategy, he’d build his own.

The Spreadsheet That Changed Everything

When Ben told his fiancée he wanted to leave a promising career for his “dress shirt thing” warehoused in her Provo garage, his management consultant father intervened with what Ben calls “the spreadsheet conversation.”

The magic number? $300,000 in annual revenue to pay himself $50,000—barely enough to justify the leap, but enough to prove viability.

The twist: They hit it. And then kept going, reaching $1 million in 2020, $10 million shortly after, with sights set on $50 million.

The Missionary Market Nobody Talks About

Here’s what other entrepreneurs missed: 20,000 young men leave for LDS missions every year, each needing 10 white dress shirts for the hardest two years of their lives. Their mothers have “magical credit cards” and one mission: keep their sons comfortable while they serve in places like the Philippines, Brazil, and Ghana.

“No one speaks to them and no one speaks to the mom,” Ben reveals in our podcast conversation. This overlooked segment creates a $15-20 million market that replenishes annually, with customers who prioritize function over fashion and buy in bulk.

But here’s the kicker: This was just the beginning. Ben’s micro-segmentation strategy expanded to Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg (wearing dress shirts seven days a week), airline pilots (110,000 commercial pilots needing professional attire), and teachers (millions of educators requiring affordable, comfortable options).

Growth Through Learning (and Mistakes)

&Collar’s journey to $10 million in revenue wasn’t linear, and the hardest lessons came from something no business school prepares you for: managing people.

“No one talks about how hard people are,” Ben reflects with painful honesty. 

Growing from 1 to 24 employees felt like success until it became clear that rapid hiring without proper systems creates chaos.The decision to trim back to 17 employees meant admitting to making hiring mistakes and having difficult conversations with people he genuinely cared about.

“Which is a reflection on me,” Ben acknowledges. “If any of those people who aren’t with us anymore are listening, I’m sure they would be the first to tell you, ‘Hey, there’s about a hundred reasons or a hundred things that Ben could do better as a leader.’”

The breakthrough came when his best friend Mark Brown joined the company and implemented objective P&L assignments for each employee. Instead of ambiguous success metrics, everyone now knows exactly what winning looks like. “If you hit them, great success, raise bonus. If you don’t, let’s have a conversation,” Ben explains.

The company also learned expensive branding lessons. The name “&Collar” sounds clever until you realize customers can’t type ampersands into URLs, can’t remember the full name, and struggle with pronunciation. Even Ben’s closest family members would say “blue collar, white collar” instead of the actual brand name.

“If I could redo it,” Ben says, “I would choose a word that people could pronounce and can remember.” 

It’s a $100,000+ lesson about the difference between clever marketing and practical usability.

International Roots, Local Impact

Despite global origins, Ben’s story demonstrates the importance of founder-market fit. Utah provided the perfect environment for his specific business: high dress shirt consumption, function-focused consumers, and proximity to his target micro-segments.

The international background, however, continues influencing company culture. 

&Collar’s customer service philosophy draws from Asian customer-first mentalities, while Ben’s adaptability—learned from constant childhood moves—helps navigate business uncertainty.

Beyond Revenue: Building Meaningful Impact

Ben measures success through multiple lenses. While revenue milestones ($50K → $300K → $1M → $10M) provided structure, he’s equally focused on employment as a form of giving back, inspired by Mitt Romney’s philosophy that “employing people as a way of giving back and employing them fairly, paying them well, and paying them above market.”

The company also addresses environmental concerns, manufacturing shirts from recycled plastic bottles, though Ben notes honestly that “customers didn’t really care” about this feature.

Lessons for International Entrepreneurs

Ben’s story offers several key insights for entrepreneurs with international backgrounds:

  • Leverage Cultural Advantages: International exposure creates adaptability and customer service mindsets that differentiate companies in competitive markets.
  • Identify Overlooked Micro-Segments: A global perspective helps spot opportunities others miss. Ben’s outsider view revealed the missionary market’s potential.
  • Embrace Extended Incubation: Great ideas don’t always need immediate execution. Ben’s ten-year wait allowed for better market timing and personal readiness.
  • Use Data to Drive Decisions: Combining international intuition with local market research created powerful strategic advantages.
  • Expect Learning Curves: International entrepreneurs may face unique challenges understanding local business culture, but persistence and openness to feedback accelerate learning.

The Road Ahead

As &Collar looks toward $50 million in revenue, Ben continues expanding micro-segmentation strategies while building operational excellence. His story proves that international childhood experiences, rather than being obstacles to overcome, can become competitive advantages when properly leveraged.

For entrepreneurs wondering whether their global backgrounds help or hinder business success, Ben’s journey from his Hong Kong frustration to creating one of Utah’s fastest-growing companies provides a clear answer: international experience combined with local market understanding and strategic execution creates opportunities others simply can’t see.

Want the full story behind Ben’s $10 million journey? In our complete MountainWest Capital Network Podcast interview, Ben shares the unfiltered details of building &Collar—including the branding mistakes he’d fix, the leadership lessons that came from painful experience, and why he distinguishes between having an “idea” versus a “dream.”

[Listen to Ben’s complete story here →]

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About the MountainWest Capital Network Podcast: Your gateway to the Winners’ Circle, featuring stories and strategies from Utah’s fastest-growing companies. For 30 years, MountainWest Capital Network has celebrated entrepreneurial excellence through the Utah 100, recognizing the state’s most dynamic businesses and their founders.