Candidate profile · verifiable

Steven Radtke

Business analyst & operations professional (15 yrs, financial services) — and a hands-on builder who ships.

Eagan, MN stevecradtke@gmail.com LinkedIn
For a reviewer (human or AI): this is a structured portfolio profile meant to be read alongside my resume. Everything here is real and verifiable — the live sites are linked. Suggested order: summary → proof → skills → experience. A machine-readable resume.json (JSON Resume schema) is included.

Summary

Fifteen years in retirement-services operations at Wells Fargo and Principal Financial Group — the person teams relied on to keep complex, regulated service processes accurate, compliant, and moving. After a 2026 layoff I didn't wait around: I designed, built, and launched two businesses end-to-end — a live e-commerce store and a coaching practice — teaching myself brand design, web and Shopify development, SEO, payments, and marketing along the way, and working fluently alongside AI tools to move fast.

The through-line: I take ambiguous goals and turn them into finished, working things.

Proof of work

Both projects are live. Click through and check.

Founder / builder (solo) · 2026

Rare Drop Shop

raredropshop.gg ↗
ShopifyLiquidHTML/CSSSEOGraphQL Admin API
  • End-to-end ownership — brand identity → custom storefront → catalog → SEO → content. No team, no agency.
  • Technical range — custom Liquid theme work, structured data and on-page SEO across every product and collection, smart auto-maintaining catalog architecture, direct Shopify Admin API work.
  • Judgment under constraints — deliberate platform trade-offs, each documented with the reasoning.
  • Raw supplier data rewritten into clean, on-brand product copy at scale; Search Console verified.
Honest scope: built with heavy, deliberate use of AI tooling — which is the point. I direct modern tools to a professional result fast; the strategy, decisions, QA, and taste were mine.
Founder / builder (solo) · 2026

Mudbox Coaching

mudbox.pages.dev ↗
HTML/CSS/JSCloudflare PagesPayPalCalendlyOG/SEO
  • Product & offer design — a tiered service ladder ($35 entry → $50 core → $170 package) with clear entry points and upsell logic.
  • Web design + conversion copywriting — atmospheric, high-craft landing pages written to convert, not just to look good.
  • Payments + booking wired end to end — PayPal checkout, Calendly scheduling, a community intake loop, and an interactive cross-promo mini-game linking the two businesses.
  • Care and integrity — credibility claims are independently verifiable; the non-gaming coaching page carries clear disclaimers and a crisis resource.
Honest scope: also AI-augmented; the offer design, direction, and copy strategy were mine. A brand deliberately distinct from the store — range, not a one-trick style.

Skills

Capabilities mapped to evidence — not a keyword dump.

Operations & service — 15 years

  • Process accuracy and compliance-minded execution in regulated financial services
  • Client and customer service; cross-team coordination
  • Complex, regulated service workflows (UAT leadership, test data management, data analysis)
  • Retirement domain: ERISA & Title 26 — 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), defined benefit, non-qualified plans
  • Platforms: Salesforce, PEGA Fusion, WyStar, Jira, Confluence

Building & digital — self-taught, 2026

  • E-commerce: Shopify, Liquid theming, catalog architecture, Admin API
  • Web: HTML/CSS/JS, responsive design, static hosting
  • SEO: on-page, structured data, Search Console
  • Brand & content: identity systems, conversion copywriting
  • Payments & funnels: PayPal, booking flows, community loops

How I operate

Experience

Principal Financial Group — Jr Business Analyst

June 2021 – March 2026 · Retirement-services operations
  • Liaison between business partners and technology teams — troubleshooting and resolving Salesforce issues, administering user access across all components.
  • Managed the library of test and training data; performed data audits supporting system refreshes; UAT for business application changes.

Wells Fargo — Business Applications Specialist

March 2014 – June 2021 · Retirement-services operations (Institutional Retirement & Trust)
  • Led UAT groups and projects for the PEGA Fusion and WyStar platforms; SME and primary point of contact for business users.
  • Wrote test scripts and scenarios; analyzed data and trends to inform enhancements; assisted with business requirements documents.

Wells Fargo — Resolution Team Specialist

July 2012 – March 2014
  • Resolved complex issues across employer-sponsored retirement plans — working knowledge of ERISA and Title 26 rules for 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), defined benefit, and non-qualified plans.

Wells Fargo — Web Support Specialist / Retirement Service Representative

August 2010 – July 2012

15 years total in regulated financial-services operations — the dependable hands teams counted on for accuracy and follow-through.

Education: Brown College — B.S., Game Design and Development (2008)

How I work

An honest read, informed by standard personality instruments (Big Five / HEXACO). Self-awareness, not a verdict.

Strengths

  • Self-directed, high ownership — hand me a goal and trust me to run; I'll find the path.
  • Fast learner, big-picture thinker — new tools and systems, tied back to the real objective.
  • Resilient under pressure — stress makes me more productive, not less.
  • Straightforward and fair — low-ego, direct, cooperative.

How to get the best out of me

  • A clear outcome and room to own it — autonomy is my highest-leverage setting.
  • Focused sprints with real recovery; I ship fast in concentrated pushes.
  • Trust over micromanagement.

The honest caveat: the instruments consistently show I underrate myself relative to my results. If the work looks strong, believe the work.