James Ratke

Trusty was born from a family's calling to serve. After 36 years in the commercial janitorial and maintenance industry, the owners of Buck Services and the next generation have started a new concept in home maintenance. I was brought on board to lead and mold this concept into reality, and into the hearts of people's homes. The mission of Trusty is simple: Elminate safety risks in and around the home, so that anyone can live independently. Through strategic and historic partnerships with insurance companies, medical providers, pharmacies, home medical supply stores, occupational therapists, and our compassionate certified aging-in-place specialists - we are creating the gold standard in home safety assessments for seniors and the less-abled. We’re dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of anyone aging through regular maintenance and ability-based adaptations to the home. Our goal is to help you age well in your home safely, with as much independence and mobility as possible.

Be Nice helps brands find & align on a foundation from which to flourish. Focused on re-brands, and those on the cusp of something big - Be Nice engages & mediates creative discussions for founders and decision-makers to realize their past, present, and ideal futures. Through honest discussions, identifying market and product landscapes and opportunities, and demographic identification - Be Nice allows brands to be themselves.

Co-founded and co-led creative, r&d, & operations for a powdered microgreen DTC brand from concept to 1000+ monthly subscribers.

Co-founded & led all things creative/sales/marketing - including brand creation & evolution, packaging, sales strategy, marketing strategy, product design, shelf and POS design, social media, copywriting

Wilder Fields is a technology-enabled food company producing extraordinarily flavorful, fresh, safe, and sustainably grown food for our local community. In July of 2020, Wilder took over a former Super Target in a landmark deal with Target Corp and The City of Calumet City. The design of the farm and it's systems and technology have been the cumulative result of hundreds of passionate experts, skilled workers, and visionaries. James has led and/or been heavily involved in: brand management and development, product development, sales, marketing, social media, office and building design, label design, custom packaging design and project management, trade show design and implementation, brand ambassador program creation and implementation.

UP Farms grew microgreens, salad greens, fruits, and flowers in a vertical hydroponic growing system. UP was a true passion project, built out of resourcefulness, sweat, and support. What started as an experiment quickly blossomed into a thriving farm and brand. By the end of UP, I had built, engineered, farmed, and scaled 3 times. I wore 3 hats at all times - Ops, Creative, and Vision. Ops - I engineered and invented most everything; led construction, repairs, and maintenance on the increasingly complex vertical hydroponic growing systems; managed daily operations; managed food safety. Creative - I painstakingly experimented with and chose rare and unique varieties to grow; continual product development, including designing unique packaging, designing unique, margin friendly mixes, designing labels and all marketing materials Vision - 24/7 obsessing over where UP should go, where vertical farming was going, how to stay ahead of the wave; advancing awareness through partnerships, community outreach, and public speaking engagements UP was a 7 year boot camp that provided me with the opportunity to experience every aspect of growing and running a thriving small, but progressive farming business.