It was the desire to hold “an influential position at an interesting company” that led Lee Taylor to accept a job as chief financial officer at OnlyFans back in 2019.
‘An interesting company’ is certainly an apt description of the social media platform. Launched in 2016, the site allows anyone over the age of 18 to post content – pictures and videos – and charge viewers for access. Although the site hosts content from creators such as musicians, artists, chefs and athletes, it is best known as a leading platform for adult entertainment. For those with enough paying fans, it can be a lucrative business.
But paid social media was far less popular in the days before the pandemic. Taylor had never heard of OnlyFans before interviewing for the CFO role, but he was “immediately brought in by the founder’s vision”.