What Silicon Valley Got Wrong About OnlyFans

Here’s a puzzle I can’t quite crack when it comes to Silicon Valley: Investors, entrepreneurs and reporters here pride themselves on spotting what’s new. Yet they so often gravitate to the old and familiar. 

Investors fund entrepreneurs who look and act like those who came before them. Entrepreneurs emulate iconic leaders like Steve Jobs, who founded their companies almost a half-century ago. The press writes about and celebrates companies based on a narrow set of criteria, like how much money they have raised. (We at The Information fall into this trap too from time to time.)

Sometimes this strategy works; surely there are lessons to be learned from the past. But what’s often overlooked is how frequently it backfires, a dynamic that’s on display this week in the events surrounding adult content and subscription social media site OnlyFans.