Alkimi Exchange Founder and CEO Ben Putley Talks Blockchain-based Digital Advertising

Benjamin Putley is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder at Alkimi Exchange. He has 10 years of experience in digital advertising, predominantly focused on selling software to global publishers.

Alkimi is a decentralised replacement to the inefficient legacy programmatic ad exchanges with the mission to restore the value exchange between advertisers, publishers and users. Alkimi is a custom layer 2 scaling solution on the Ethereum network, specifically for advertising — which allows us to provide the fastest, infinitely scalable solution with 0% fraud, low transaction fees and complete end-to-end transparency.

1. What is your company in 2-5 words?

Blockchain-powered digital advertising revolution.

2. Why is now the time for your company to exist?

Right now, the digital ad industry is desperate for improved transparency and efficiency. The traditional model is full of middlemen, fraud and a lack of accountability. We’re here because blockchain offers the perfect solution to bring transparency, fairness and value back to advertising at a time when it’s needed most. We need to ensure the future of the ad-funded internet so it is free and accessible to everyone.

3. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?

I am inspired daily by our team's diversity of talent and relentless drive to disrupt the status quo. We have a mix of people from adtech, blockchain, and business innovation who understand both the problem and the solution deeply. This combination makes us perfectly placed to reshape the digital advertising space- not just with a blockchain protocol , but by fundamentally transforming the way ads are bought and sold.

4. If you weren't building your startup, what would you be doing?

Honestly, it’s hard to imagine not building Alkimi. But if I wasn’t, I’d likely be exploring ways to improve the ad ecosystem. I have spent my entire career working in this industry and I love it.

5. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics?

We measure success through multiple lenses: advertiser ROI improvement, publisher revenue increases but ultimately, our north star is the percentage of global digital ad spend flowing through our platform.

6. In a few sentences, what do you offer to whom?

We offer advertisers and publishers a blockchain that ensures every ad dollar is spent efficiently and transparently. For advertisers, this means better ROI and brand safety. For publishers, it's about fair compensation and simplified operations. We're bringing trust and value back to digital advertising.

7. What’s most exciting about your traction to date?

What excites me most is how quickly major brands and publishers are adopting our platform. Our conversion rates are far above the industry norm, which shows that we’re solving a real problem at the right time.

8. Where do you think your growth will be next year?

Next year, we anticipate exponential growth as we expand globally and deepen our penetration in key markets. We're projecting a 10x increase in transaction volume and expect to onboard several Fortune 500 companies as they seek more efficient, transparent advertising solutions.

9. Tell us about your first paying customer and revenue expectations over the next year.

Our first paying customer was Amazon Web Services, via their media agency Kinesso.. Frustrated with the lack of transparency in their ad spend, they saw a 212% reduction in the cost of media. Looking ahead, we expect to 10x our revenue over the next year as we scale our operations and bring on more enterprise clients.

10. What’s your biggest threat?

Our biggest threat is the potential for slow adoption due to industry inertia. Many players in the current system benefit from its opacity. However, we're countering this by demonstrating clear, measurable benefits to early adopters and building strong partnerships across the industry. We're not just offering a product; we're leading a movement towards a more equitable digital advertising ecosystem.