Tim Stokely
{{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, the founder of OnlyFans and its CEO until December 2021.
Early life
Tim Stokely was born in Harlow,{{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 }} Essex,{{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 }} 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.{{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 }}
Career
Stokely's first businesses were the adult performance websites GlamWorship and Customs4U, and a site to connect customers to adult content creators.{{cite news |last1=Nilsson |first1=Patricia |title=OnlyFans blurs boundaries as lockdown demand drives success |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f034e311-942e-4d4f-a970-81ee54c568a3 |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=Financial Times |date=30 April 2021 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525095423/https://www.ft.com/content/f034e311-942e-4d4f-a970-81ee54c568a3 |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}} He founded OnlyFans in 2016 alongside his older brother, Thomas Stokely, and with the help of a £10,000 loan from his father, Guy,{{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}} who told him, "Tim, this is going to be the last one". His brother is the company's chief operating officer and his father is head of finance.{{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}} 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.
Stokely cites the investor Warren Buffett and his book Warren Buffett on Business as one of his influences.
Stokely sold a 75 percent stake in OnlyFans' parent company Fenix International to Leonid Radvinsky in 2018.{{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 }} On 23 December 2021, Tim Stokely stepped down as CEO of OnlyFans, and was succeeded by Indian-American businesswoman Amrapali Gan.{{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}} Keily Blair replaced Gan in July 2023.[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]
Stokely lives in a "gated mansion with a cinema and sauna" in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.{{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}} He subscribes to two OnlyFans content creators, James Haskell and Chris Robshaw, which reflects his interest in rugby.