TwistRate Launches Platform to Help Fund the American Dream

HEBER CITY, UT--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2014) - TwistRate, a new rewards- and donations-based crowdfunding platform, announced it officially launched over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The platform is designed to give veterans, service members, law enforcement personnel, outdoor enthusiasts, and the extreme sports, fishing and hunting communities a dedicated place to come together online to fund the ideas, passions and dreams of their communities.

The donation- and reward-based crowdfunding site is truly unique, as it not only caters to those that protect and serve the red, white and blue, but brings communities together to fund passion projects and provides all of the tools for campaigners to accomplish their goals. TwistRate goes above and beyond typical fundraising sites' services to offer intellectual property protections services, business plan writing, and full-service video productions and editing services, the cost of which can even be financed into approved campaigns.

Crowdfunding initiatives are expected to reach $93 billion in funds raised by 2025, with numerous platforms emerging to fill the needs of specific communities that often best understand the value their inventions are bringing to the market. TwistRate's founders were inspired to create the platform particularly for veterans, who continue to suffer from higher unemployment rates than the general population, a figure expected to increase as more soldiers return home. TwistRate also helps those entrepreneurs and small business owners, who many traditional financial institutions have left behind, connect directly with their potential customers to raise funds. 

Designed by Special Forces veterans to be "part social, part finance and all American," TwistRate makes American dreams come true by connecting the dreamers with the dollars.

"What drew me to TwistRate was that it brought together the people who would actually understand and use my invention," says Jeff Byers of Frog Fuel. "As a SEAL, I know how important teamwork is, and now, as an inventor, I'm getting the tools and resources I need to succeed, in a safe and secure environment, full of fellow vets and entrepreneurs. No big company would ever do this."

"TwistRate's goal is to make achieving the American Dream possible again," says CEO Evan Hafer. "In the service and in my personal life, I have seen so many amazing inventors who produce innovations that will truly benefit their communities. It is time for these entrepreneurs to have an easy and secure way to connect with like-minded professionals who can help them create, launch, market and distribute their dreams."

The site currently features campaigns from former SEALs, Marines and police officers, focusing on obstacle course-style races, performance and camping products, nonprofit organizations and more.

Headquartered in Utah, TwistRate was founded by Jeff Kirkham, who served for 27 years with the U.S. Army Special Forces, and Evan Hafer, who spent 14 years of his career serving as an infantryman and as a Green Beret Special Forces solider. Both of these men are inventors, athletes, entrepreneurs, teachers and avid outdoorsmen.

"We just wanted to create a special place for our community that gives its all, protecting and serving its country, its cities, its neighbors and its men and women in uniform," says Kirkham. "TwistRate brings communities together to fund their own, build their own and make their own -- all on their own. It is the American dream in action."