{{Short description|British businessman (born 1983)}} {{Use dmy dates|date= May 2021}} {{Use British English|date= May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Timothy Stokely | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1983|07}} | birth_place = Harlow, England | death_date = | death_place = | education = Anglia Ruskin University | occupation = Businessman | known_for = Founder of OnlyFans and CEO until 2021 | networth = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | website = }} '''Timothy Christopher Stokely''' (born July 1983) is a British businessman, best known as the founder of OnlyFans. After stepping down as CEO in December 2021, Stokely returned to the digital media space in 2025 with the launch of Subs, a creator-focused platform aimed at offering broader monetisation tools across genres.
==Early life== Tim Stokely was born in Harlow,<ref name="GQ">{{cite news |last1=Barrie |first1=Thomas |title=OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely's tips for success |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=GQ |date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525100438/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/onlyfans-ceo-tim-stokely |url-status=live }}</ref> Essex,<ref name="Daily Telegraph">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Margi |title=The Essex-born OnlyFans founder who built a porn empire |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/04/02/essex-born-onlyfans-founder-built-porn-empire-has-become-one/ |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=Daily Telegraph |date=2 April 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525101802/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/04/02/essex-born-onlyfans-founder-built-porn-empire-has-become-one/?utm_content=telegraph&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1617375176 |url-status=live }}</ref> in July 1983, the youngest of four children of Guy Stokely, a retired ex-Barclays investment banker. He has a degree from Anglia Ruskin University.<ref name="timstokely.com">{{cite web |title=About |url=https://www.timstokely.com/ |website=timstokely.com |access-date=25 May 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525100821/https://www.timstokely.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Stokely's first entrepreneurial venture began while he was still in school, where he collected orders for a local fish and chip shop, charging a markup for delivery.<ref name="Daily Telegraph" />
==Career==
=== OnlyFans === Stokely founded OnlyFans in 2016 with a £10,000 loan from his father, Guy,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-05-24|title=Essex family behind OnlyFans profit from pornography boom|url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/may/24/essex-family-behind-onlyfans-profit-from-pornography-boom |access-date=2021-08-20 |website=The Guardian |language=en|archive-date=27 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127050817/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/may/24/essex-family-behind-onlyfans-profit-from-pornography-boom|url-status=live}}</ref> who told him, "Tim, this is going to be the last one".<ref name="FT">{{cite news |last1=Nilsson |first1=Patricia |date=30 April 2021 |title=OnlyFans blurs boundaries as lockdown demand drives success |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f034e311-942e-4d4f-a970-81ee54c568a3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525095423/https://www.ft.com/content/f034e311-942e-4d4f-a970-81ee54c568a3 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=Financial Times}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The platform was designed as a subscription-based service intended for all types of content creators.<ref name="GQ" />
According to Stokely, the aim was to monetise existing creator behaviour already present on free social media platforms by introducing a payment mechanism, allowing creators to earn directly from their content.<ref name="GQ" />
During its early days, OnlyFans was a family-run business, with Stokely's brother, Tom, as COO <ref name=":0" /> and his father as CFO <ref name="GQ" /><ref name="FT" /><ref>{{cite web |author1=Thomas Brewster |author2=David Dawkins |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/06/16/the-shady-secret-history-of-onlyfans-billionaire-owner/?sh=5545c7e5c17f|title=The Shady, Secret History Of OnlyFans' Billionaire Owner|work=Forbes|accessdate=11 July 2021|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711234104/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/06/16/the-shady-secret-history-of-onlyfans-billionaire-owner/?sh=5545c7e5c17f|url-status=live}}</ref> He sought to avoid the mistakes of his earlier sites by building in a referral system that gave third parties an incentive to recruit new content creators to the site.<ref name="GQ" /> Stokely sold a 75 percent stake in OnlyFans' parent company Fenix International to Leonid Radvinsky in 2018.<ref name="FT" /><ref name="The Independent">{{cite news |last1=Zitser |first1=Joshua |title='Being made homeless is a perpetual fear': What it's like to risk everything just for posting on OnlyFans |url=https://www.indy100.com/people/onlyfans-lauren-kwei-sex-work-b1777617 |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=The Independent |date=24 December 2020 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525114649/https://www.indy100.com/people/onlyfans-lauren-kwei-sex-work-b1777617 |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the acquisition, the platform became increasingly associated with adult content and gained widespread attention for its role in the creator economy.<ref name="The Independent" />
OnlyFans became highly profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="Daily Telegraph" /> In July 2020, the platform had grown to 50 million users and 660,000 creators.<ref name="The Sunday Times">{{cite news |last1=Das |first1=Shanti |date=26 July 2020 |title=Meet the king of homemade porn — a banker's son making millions |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/meet-the-king-of-homemade-porn-a-bankers-son-making-millions-z9vhq9c9s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525094835/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-the-king-of-homemade-porn-a-bankers-son-making-millions-z9vhq9c9s |archive-date=25 May 2021 |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=The Sunday Times}}</ref>
In December 2021, Stokely stepped down as CEO of OnlyFans, and was succeeded by Indian-American businesswoman Amrapali Gan.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Who is Amrapali Gan? All you need to know about OnlyFans' new CEO |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/who-is-amrapali-gan-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-ceo-of-onlyfans/articleshow/88438000.cms|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226193238/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/who-is-amrapali-gan-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-ceo-of-onlyfans/articleshow/88438000.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Keily Blair replaced Gan in July 2023.<ref>[https://fortune.com/2023/07/20/onlyfans-creators-hopeful-new-ceo-pro-porn-adult-content-messaging/ Top OnlyFans creators are hopeful that the new CEO will embrace pro-porn messaging]</ref>
=== Zoop === After leaving OnlyFans, Stokely co-founded Zoop with RJ Phillips in 2022. Zoop is a blockchain-based digital trading card platform that allows fans to collect, buy, sell and trade 3D cards of officially licensed celebrities and influencers. It's backed by, and operates on, the Polygon blockchain network.<ref>{{Cite news |title=OnlyFans Founder Launching Celebrity Trading Card Platform, Zoop, Backed by Polygon |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220526005159/en/OnlyFans-Founder-Launching-Celebrity-Trading-Card-Platform-Zoop-Backed-by-Polygon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617035449/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220526005159/en/OnlyFans-Founder-Launching-Celebrity-Trading-Card-Platform-Zoop-Backed-by-Polygon |archive-date=2025-06-17 |access-date=2025-07-25 |language=en}}</ref>
In April 2025, Zoop partnered with the Hbar Foundation to submit a late-stage bid to acquire TikTok from ByteDance. The intent to purchase the app, which serves over 170 million US users, was sent to the White House. The bid was framed as a model for creator-owned value generation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tong |first=Anna |last2=Tong |first2=Anna |date=2025-04-02 |title=OnlyFans founder, crypto foundation submit late-stage bid to buy TikTok |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/onlyfans-founder-crypto-foundation-submit-late-stage-bid-buy-tiktok-2025-04-02/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
=== Subs.com === Stokely launched a new creator platform, Subs.com, in May 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Parham |first=Jason |title=OnlyFans Turbocharged Sex Work. Now Its Founder Is Targeting the Whole Influencer Economy |url=https://www.wired.com/story/onlyfans-turbocharged-sex-work-now-its-founder-is-targeting-the-whole-influencer-economy/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Subs is designed as a hybrid of YouTube, Patreon, Cameo and TikTok-style features aimed at overhauling the creator economy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-30 |title=Tim Stokely Bets Big on The Creator Economy |url=https://whatstrending.com/from-onlyfans-to-subs-tim-stokelys-big-bet-on-the-creator-economy/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=What's Trending |language=en-US}}</ref> Operating as a web app allows creators to avoid in-app fees from Apple and Google app stores as well as restrictions on adult content.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Geoff |title=After selling OnlyFans, its founder is launching a rival creator platform |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-cofounder-tim-stokely-launches-rival-creator-platform-subs-2025-5 |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Stokely intended for Subs to offer creators "everything in one place", with features to make audience-building and monetisation easier. The platform is built for a variety of creators, including podcasters, athletes, musicians and adult performers.<ref name=":1" />
=== Other ventures === Before OnlyFans, Stokely launched several businesses including the adult performance websites GlamWorship and Customs4U, and a platform that connected users to tradespeople.<ref name="FT" />
In October 2022, Stokely invested in FITFCK, a London-based dating app aimed at fitness enthusiasts. The deal valued the company at £3 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-05 |title=OnlyFans founder invests in FITFCK, a dating app for gym-goers |url=https://www.uktech.news/funding/angel/fitfck-onlyfans-investment-20221005 |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=UKTN |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokely, Timothy}} Category:Living people Category:English company founders Category:People from Harlow Category:Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Category:1983 births Category:English chief executives Category:OnlyFans people Category:Chief executives in technology Category:Chief executive officers