Why Former OnlyFans CEO Ami Gan Believes Creators Deserve a Better Social Platform

In a recent appearance on Forbes Top Creators Show, hosted by Forbes editor Steve Bertoni, former OnlyFans CEO Ami Gan shared lessons from her unconventional journey through some of the most disruptive industries of the last decade—from cannabis to creator monetization to AI-powered social platforms.

In the creator economy, most people spend their careers reacting to change.

Ami Gan has built hers by running toward it.

Before helping lead one of the most disruptive platforms in digital media, she was working in the cannabis industry during its early legalization wave. Then came OnlyFans during the height of the pandemic. Today, she's building Violet, a new creator-focused social platform she describes as the “HBO of social media.”

Whether Violet succeeds or not, Gan’s entrepreneurial journey offers a masterclass in identifying cultural shifts before they become mainstream.

For wantrepreneurs and early-stage founders, her story reveals an important truth:

The biggest opportunities often live in industries everyone else is still debating.

The Career Strategy Most Founders Ignore

Many entrepreneurs are taught to look for stable industries.

Gan did the opposite.

Before joining OnlyFans, she helped launch one of Los Angeles’ first cannabis cafés—a business operating in a highly regulated and often misunderstood industry. Rather than viewing controversy as a risk, she saw it as a signal that something important was changing.

That same mindset led her to OnlyFans in 2020.

At the time, the creator economy was exploding. Influencers were still heavily dependent on sponsorships and brand deals. Few platforms had truly cracked direct creator monetization at scale.

Gan saw something others missed:

Creator ownership was becoming more valuable than creator reach.

That insight would define the next phase of her career.

What OnlyFans Taught Her About Building Businesses

Gan joined OnlyFans as CMO during the pandemic before eventually becoming CEO. While the platform generated headlines for its controversial reputation, she focused on something far less sensational:

Creators.

According to Gan, every major decision came back to a simple question:

How does this help the people using the platform every day?

For founders, this lesson is deceptively powerful.

Many startups become obsessed with investors, competitors, press coverage, or fundraising milestones. The strongest companies remain obsessed with users.

When discussing leadership lessons from OnlyFans, Gan highlighted three principles:

• Be relentlessly creator and user focused.
• Build an approachable culture.
• Remember that building should be enjoyable.

Simple advice—but remarkably difficult to execute consistently.

The Opportunity Hidden Between Two Extremes

After leaving OnlyFans, Gan and co-founder Keily began discussing what felt broken about social media.

Their observation was straightforward:

Most platforms force users into one of two worlds.

On one side, highly curated, advertiser-friendly social platforms.

On the other, platforms designed primarily around adult content and monetization.

They saw a large underserved space sitting in between.

That gap became Violet.

The platform combines creator monetization tools with social networking features while maintaining clear content boundaries. Gan describes it as serving adults who want more freedom of expression without moving fully into adult-platform territory.

For entrepreneurs, the takeaway is clear:

Innovation often happens in the spaces between existing categories.

Instead of competing head-on with industry giants, look for markets where customers are forced to choose between imperfect options.

Why Authenticity Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage

One of the most interesting parts of Gan’s vision isn't technology.

It's authenticity.

She argues that today's social media environment has become exhausting:

• Endless doom scrolling.
• Algorithmic content overload.
• Pressure to create perfectly curated posts.
• Constant performance for engagement.

Her solution isn't less technology.

It's better human connection.

Even as Violet invests heavily in AI tools—including AI-generated images and AI chat assistants—Gan repeatedly returns to the same principle:

Humans always win.

That perspective stands out in a startup ecosystem increasingly focused on automation.

Rather than replacing creators, she sees AI as a tool that helps creators work more efficiently while keeping real people at the center of the experience.

For founders navigating the AI boom, that's an important distinction.

The companies that win may not be the ones that eliminate humans.

They may be the ones that make humans more effective.

Building a Startup From Scratch After Running a Global Platform

One of the most surprising parts of Gan’s story is that becoming a startup founder wasn't necessarily easier after serving as CEO of a major company.

Launching Violet meant returning to fundamentals:

• Defining the business model.
• Creating moderation policies.
• Building product experiences.
• Raising capital.
• Recruiting talent.
• Explaining the vision repeatedly.

The company raised approximately $2.7 million and assembled a lean team built largely from trusted relationships developed over years of working together.

This reinforces another entrepreneurial truth:

Your network compounds.

Many founders focus exclusively on product development while overlooking relationship building.

Years later, those relationships often become co-founders, executives, investors, advisors, and early customers.

The Confidence Lesson Every Founder Needs

Toward the end of the interview, Gan addressed a topic frequently discussed with female executives: imposter syndrome.

Her answer was refreshingly direct.

She rejects the assumption that high-achieving leaders should constantly question whether they belong.

Instead, she believes founders must develop confidence in the value they've earned.

As she explained, you have to believe you're at the table because you've earned your seat there.

For early-stage entrepreneurs, that's an important reminder.

There will always be people with:

• More funding.
• More experience.
• Better connections.
• Bigger audiences.

But confidence isn't believing you're the most qualified person in the room.

It's believing you're capable of learning whatever the room requires.

Final Takeaway

Ami Gan's career is a case study in embracing emerging industries before they become obvious.

From cannabis to creator monetization to AI-powered social platforms, her path reflects a willingness to step into uncertainty while others wait for clarity.

For entrepreneurs, the lesson isn't to chase controversy.

It's to pay attention to cultural shifts before they become consensus.

Because by the time everyone agrees an opportunity is real, the most valuable part of it is often already gone.