Journalism crowdfunding platform PressPatron named hottest media industry tech start-up by NZ Marketing Magazine

Former Whanganui resident Alex Clark's company has topped The Hot List 2018. Photo / Victoria University of Wellington

PressPatron, founded by Whanganui-raised Alex Clark, has been named New Zealand's hottest media industry tech start-up.

Clark's company won the judges' and people's choice awards in the tech start-up category of The Hot List 2018 run by NZ Marketing Magazine.

PressPatron, launched in February 2017, is a crowdfunding platform aimed at supporting high quality investigative journalism and in-depth reporting. It provides a payment button for publishers' websites, enabling readers to make a donation by becoming a "supporter". Readers can make one-off or monthly contributions.

"It was a pretty nice surprise to win both the judges' choice and people's choice awards," Clark said.

"It's been a long journey to get here so it's really cool to be supported by both the media industry and the public. It feels like this year is going to be a big one for us and this is a nice part of that journey to reaching our full potential locally and overseas too."

About 30 websites are currently using PressPatron and Clark recently spent three months in the United States meeting potential clients. He says 25 more sites are now actively considering using PressPatron.

Clark is a former Whanganui High School pupil and former editor of youth magazine Tearaway which was based in Whanganui. He studied digital media, entrepreneurship and internet law at university and has worked as a media researcher.