Yahoo Finance OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely steps down as CEO
The founder of OnlyFans, the content subscription site widely known for its adult content, has stepped down from his role as CEO.
Tim Stokely, 38, is to be replaced by the company’s director of communications, 36-year-old Amrapali Gan.
Essex-based entrepreneur Stokely founded the site in 2016. Content creators on the site can charge user a fee for watching their posts or videos. OnlyFans makes money by taking a 20% cut of subscribers’ payments. The company has amassed more than 180 million users and more than 2 million content creators.
Stokely has until now run the company with his father, a former investment banker. He is stepping down to "focus on my next challenge", he said, and will remain on as an advisor in the “leadership transition” phase.
In an Instagram post, he wrote: "I’m passing the baton on to a colleague and a friend, who has the vision and drive to help the organisation reach tremendous potential."
Gan, who joined OnlyFans in 2020 from Red Bull, said she looks forward "to continuing to work closely with our creator community to help them maximize control over, and monetise, their content".
She told Bloomberg the company plans to up investment in its free streaming app, OFTV.
OnlyFans hit the mainstream in spring 2020 when Beyonce referenced the site in song. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up in the wake of the song and usage continued to boom in lockdowns.
Today, Stokeley is estimated to worth about £100 million.
His company has faced controversy in recent months. OnlyFans was criticised for allegedly failing to do enough to prevent under-age users selling adult videos and images. OnlyFans has previously told the BBC its age verification systems go over and above regulatory requirements.
In a surprise move in August, the site announced it would not host "sexually explicit" content. It quickly reversed the decision after widespread backlash from users, many of whom said their main source of income would be cut off. Stokely has said the short-lived ban was a result of “unfair treatment” by banks.
The Standard has approached Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, for comment.
