From adult content to a multi-billion dollar creator empire

When it comes to the creator economy, Patreon is the name that comes to mind. Between 2013 and 2019, the platform paid out over $1 billion to creators from all walks of life.

But one unlikely contender blows it out of the water: OnlyFans.

According to a recent Bloomberg profile, the site - which allows users to charge fans for access to videos, photos and personalized communications - is on track to shell out $ 2 billion this year.

You never heard of OnlyFans?

The traditional power users of the platform are attractive women who sell "the opposite of G" photos to (usually) male buyers.

Today, his biggest accounts come from the world of Instagram influencers like Jem Wolfie and Andrea Vasile.

But adult performers and sex workers - who are unable to meet clients in person - have turned to the platform for a living during the pandemic.

The founder of OnlyFans, Tim Stokely, is a serial entrepreneur

He founded a successive series of startups throughout the 2010s, before launchingOnlyFans in 2016:

• Glam Worship, who facilitated transactions for a sexual fetish known as "financial domination" (which may also have been a phrase used in Amazon's pre-IPO prospectus)
• Custom4U allows customers to order personalized videos
• 121 with was a market where tradespeople (e.g. plumbers) could sell their expertise

Stokely tells Bloomberg that these companies gave him key insights into the creator-fan relationship.

Mainstream celebrities are taking note

Musicians like Cardi B and The Weeknd have used OnlyFans as a promotional platform. Actress Bella Thorne scored a one-day high of $1 million when she joined the platform.

While sex workers have expressed concern that groups like Thorne are “gentrifying” the platform and taking away a much-needed revenue stream from it, the growth ofOnlyFans outside of adult content seems inevitable.

Already with over 85 million users and over 1 million creators, OnlyFans adds 500000 users a day and – with a 20% take on $2 billion in sales – will bring in $400 million in 2020.

If Patreon is already worth over $1,2 billion, the sky's the limit for OnlyFans.

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