Based out of London, OnlyFans is seen by some as a money-making platform for original content creators and by others as a site to exploit both the creators and the subscribers.

What is undeniable however is the success of the platform. According to OnlyFans it has over 170 million subscribers (Sept ‘21) and 1.5 million content creators. Over the last 4 years its popularity has skyrocketed as social media and online content usage has grown.

Tim Stokely is the founder, along with his brother Thomas who raised £10,000 in seed money through their father Guy who then became the head of finance.

The business model is simple, it’s a subscription service where consumers pay to access creator content. 80% of the fee goes to the content creator whilst OnlyFans takes 20%. The top content creators can now earn over $100k USD per month. And in total over $2 billion USD has passed through the platform.

Audience growth was initially driven by the sex industry as amateur and professional sex workers joined the platform to perform. Then more mainstream artists and content creators saw the potential to grow their own revenue streams. One famous use happened in 2020 when Kaylen Ward raised over $1m US in charitable donations during the Australian bushfires in exchange for access to sexual content.

Covid-19 and the subsequent global lockdowns further helped the company to grow as audiences and content creators looked for new ways to entertain and build revenues. Even celebrities such as Beyonce have referenced the site in song lyrics.

The site continues to grow but in December 2021, Tim Stokely decided to step down as CEO and pass on the reins. His successor is Ami Gan, the company’s former head of communications and marketing but Stokely will remain as an advisor.