The Story of A.E. Perkins
A.E. Perkins is named after William C. Short’s great-grandfather, who founded the original A.E. Perkins Company. While the business achieved success during his lifetime, it ultimately failed after his passing.
Despite his best efforts to safeguard the company’s future, the organization depended too heavily on his personal leadership. Without him, it lacked the systems, structure, and durability needed to endure.
That lesson is the foundation of A.E. Perkins today.
The name serves as a constant reminder that truly enduring businesses are not built around a single individual. They are built through disciplined decision-making, resilient operating models, and leadership structures that allow companies to thrive well beyond any one person.
At A.E. Perkins, we focus on building self-sustaining enterprises designed to last for generations. Every investment, partnership, and strategic decision is guided by the belief that what we build today must stand on its own tomorrow.
“To build a business that lasts for centuries, you have to make decisions today that don’t rely on any one person.”
Our Values
Integrity
We are true to our vision and values first, then each other, our clients, and our partners. We commit to enduring candor and transparency. We hug the feedback, surface potential issues quickly, and make it easy for others to do the same. We value facts over feelings while still encouraging honesty and openness.
Focus
We build with the next decade in mind, not the next quarter. The 1000 mile march means choosing hard problems that matter over easy wins. Real innovation takes time, or someone would’ve done it already. We are excited about the future, but more importantly we understand the work needed to get there.
Accountability
We take ownership of everything, including our missteps and weaknesses. We know the difference between blame and responsibility; while we might not be at fault, we still take ownership. We assume the best about people and understand the perspectives (and incentives) of others, because it makes our perspective richer.
Innovation
We ask “Why not?” to unlock new possibilities. We stay curious, improve every day, and focus on winning together, anticipating the market’s greatest needs and responding with visionary solutions.
How We See the FutureThe next wave of value creation lies at the intersection of consumer experience and payment technology.
By integrating eligibility, funding, and point-of-sale decision-making into a unified environment, we believe businesses can meaningfully reduce costs, improve outcomes, and deliver a better consumer experience while aligning incentives at the time of transaction.
Our proven track record in building proprietary IP and operating complex businesses through companies including Ameriflex, Accresa, and Workforce Go uniquely positions A.E. Perkins to advance this vision. Across our ecosystem, we focus on solving real problems in regulated, high-stakes environments particularly within healthcare payments and benefits while applying disciplined execution to every platform we build.
Our Reach
A.E. Perkins operates through a growing network of portfolio companies, strategic partners, and distribution relationships. This ecosystem enables us to ideate, invest, and launch with immediate scale, providing operators with tangible capabilities and compounding results over time.
Today, across our portfolio and partner network, we:
Our distribution network includes thousands of broker and strategic partner relationships, with continued expansion underway.
Built for Long-Term Partnerships
Whether through acquisition, investment, or strategic partnership, A.E. Perkins works closely with founders and operators who share our commitment to building enduring businesses.
If you’d like to explore whether our ecosystem could be a strong fit for your company, we welcome the conversation. Email us at [email protected].
