OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair has revealed that the company operates with just 42 full-time employees, despite serving over 400 million users globally and hosting nearly 4 million content creators. This lean workforce is a result of a deliberate strategy to eliminate middle-management roles, allowing the company to maintain a flat organisational structure.
Talking to Jeff Berman, during the November Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Blair explained that OnlyFans hires incredibly senior talent and hungry junior talent, prioritising attitude and aptitude over experience. This approach enables the company to operate efficiently, with every employee functioning as an individual contributor. Blair emphasised that leaders are not judged by team size, but rather by their ability to deliver exceptional results.
"So we hire incredibly senior talent, and then we hire incredibly hungry junior talent, and we look for attitude and aptitude in hiring rather than experience. And we do not have that sort of squidgy layer of middle management in the middle, because nobody's ever had a really good middle manager in my experience", Blair explained.
OnlyFans, founded in 2016, generates around $7 billion in annual revenue, making it a highly profitable company, Business Insider reported.
Challenging traditional corporate norms, Blair said she rejected the idea that leaders should be judged by team size. She believes individual contributors can deliver exceptional results without needing to manage large teams.
"We've said to our teams, 'You can be a team of one and deliver exceptional results, and that will be so valued," she said.
About OnlyFans
OnlyFans is a content subscription platform launched in 2016, best known for allowing creators to share exclusive content directly with their fans, often in exchange for a monthly fee. The platform allows creators to set their subscription prices, typically ranging from $4.99 to $49.99 per month, and keeps 80% of the earnings, while OnlyFans takes a 20% commission. The platform has become particularly popular among adult entertainers, but it's also used by artists, musicians, and influencers looking to connect with their fans directly.
Keily Blair became the company's CEO in 2023 after years of work as a lawyer. As CEO, she focused on expanding the platform's image beyond adult content, encouraging mainstream creators and fostering brand partnerships. Under her leadership, OnlyFans continued to grow, boasting billions in creator payouts and millions of users worldwide.
