SUBSTRATUM

“Columbus is also known for custom software development and start-ups. There are lots of good things happening. We like Delaware because we get a city feel but it’s still a small college town — everything is within walking distance.”

Most of Substratum’s staff have some Ohio connection, and some are natives, including Allmon, who was born in Canton. The company currently has about a dozen employees, along with some contractors, based in its 3,200 square-foot building.

“We want to grow up to 20 employees,” Allmon said. “We want to add about eight more (web) developers.”

Substratum was founded in February 2017 by CEO Justin Tabb. A few months later, in August , the company launched its “Initial Coin Offering” token sale.

“Basically what that means is we were crowd-funded with cryptocurrency,” Allmon said.

Currently, Substratum is also listed on several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kucoin, OKEx and COSS.

Substratum’s reliance on cryptocurrency to finance its operations is daring, in large part because any cryptocurrency, such as the high-flying bitcoin, “doesn’t constitute legal tender,” said Janet Yellen, before her exit as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. “It is a highly speculative asset.”

The entire cryptocurrency sector is “in the ‘Wild West’ stage, and I believe we’ll see many financial collapses and catastrophes before the business/technology gets sorted out,” said Jeff Wilkins, a longtime leader in the local tech industry, founder of pioneering tech firm CompuServe and CEO at Facilities Management eXpress.

“But the blockchain technology does appear to make a lot of sense for improving digital security,” Wilkins added.

That point — and not just creating wealth for its founders — is key to why Substratum was founded, Allmon said. By using various technologies and relying on an informal network of personal computer users, Substratum is seeking to create an alternative web that will allow users to continue working without interference.

“Justin provided a vision to build software that could fight censorship and net neutrality issues around the world,” Allmon said.

“Government policies shift and change. Substratum is looking to build a stable foundation, so that no matter where you live in the world, true net neutrality, and without censorship, can be experienced by all.”