Founder · CFP® · builder
I turn chaos into things worth building.
I'm Phil Ratcliff. I started rebel Financial in 2013, and I haven't stopped building since — a fintech company, two nonprofits, a farm and a few moonshots. I start with what's within reach and build outward, because anything great has to be good in every one of its parts.
Create. Protect. Enable.
The ventures
How does one person do all this?
One mission and a few different engines. None of these are logo-wall filler — click into any one and there's real depth behind it.
The engine
rebel Financial
Fee-only financial planning, investments, tax and estate work. People before profits since 2013 — no commissions, no products to push.
Visit rebelfinancial.com →
The moonshot engine
Darevia
Software built by advisors, for advisors. We build the tools rebel runs on first, then share them with independent firms everywhere.
Visit darevia.io →
The give-back
rebel Financial Foundation
Pro bono financial planning for people who would never otherwise get it — at scale — plus long-range work on economic security.
Learn more →
The exit ramp
4Advisors
Helping advisors leave the big firms and build practices that serve clients, not corporations.
Visit 4advisors.org →
Coming soon
The proving ground
Ratcliff Farms
A chestnut orchard, silvopasture and apiary — and a real-world testing ground for sustainable, self-sufficient systems.
Visit ratclifffarms.com →
The short answer
Start with what's in reach. Build outward. Don't stop.
Each venture feeds the next. rebel Financial funds the mission, Darevia helps it scale, and the nonprofits carry it to people the industry forgot.
Read the full story →
Life lately
Farm days, team days and the occasional mountain.
The work happens in a lot of places. Here are a few recent frames, straight off my phone.
Mowing hay on the farm · May 2026
The rebel team at NAPFA, Atlanta · Oct 2026
Machu Picchu, Peru · Jan 2025
Raising hoop houses · Dec 2024
Team outing, trophy in hand · Jul 2026
Rafting the New River · Aug 2026
The journey
Get to know how I think.
The ventures are what I build. These pages are why — and they keep growing as I add to them.
01
What I believe
The creed I try to live by — integrity, courage, wisdom, justice and, holding it all together, love.
Read it →
02
What I'm reading
Every book I've read, what's on deck right now, and the quotes and ideas worth keeping from each.
Coming soon
03
Where I've been learning
Conferences, trips and the lessons from each — starting with NAPFA in Atlanta and working backward.
Coming soon
04
Phil's ballot
Who I vote for and why, plus a tool that shows how I'd vote in your local races.
Coming soon
05
If I were in charge
An open-source platform: what's broken, the root cause and how I'd fix it. Take any idea you like.
Coming soon
06
The road here
The Army, Ohio State, twenty-plus years in finance and the day I started rebel — the short version.
Read it →
Once a week. That's it.
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What I'm reading, building and learning, plus new pages as they go up — one email a week, pulled straight from the site.