Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
As director of partners and products for NakedSword, with a firm grip on its affiliate program NakedSword Cash, Tiffany channels her creativity and project management chops into creating synergy and building relationships.
I really enjoy working with all the different folks I have met in this business. I treat everyone with respect and kindness, and I love when we are able to get some laughs in there as well.
From dealing with matters of accounting and human resources to partnering with affiliates for fresh opportunities and beyond, she wears a great many hats in order to fulfill her mission of empowering folks in the orbit of the famed brand.
Even if a project falls outside of her skillset, she is eager to learn. This mindset was truly put to the test when she worked to launch NakedSword Cash on the NATS platform, adapting and pivoting as needed to pull it off.
To spotlight her career background, current goals and future ambitions, XBIZ sat down with Tiffany for this WIA Woman of the Month interview.
XBIZ: Tell us about your professional background prior to adult.
TIFFANY: My college background was actually in Black history and theater. I moved to LA after working in the Washington, D.C. area for a while as a lifeguard and bartender to pursue my passion for singing and acting. I suffered LA for a while doing some gigs here and there while bartending in Santa Monica. While I was there, I also had the honor and pleasure of working as a behavioral consultant for autistic children and their families. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have ever done.
XBIZ: What inspired you to join this industry?
TIFFANY: Well, to be honest, I was eager to get out of Southern California. One of my best friends was working for Cubik Media at the time, which became NakedSword, and told me they were looking for an office manager. I thought, why not? It was a change of scenery, I had some friends in the Bay Area and so it seemed perfect. I interviewed in October of 2005 and met with head honcho Tim Valenti, Amelia, who was in charge of accounting, and Seloni, the current office manager.
I fell in love with the quaint office that was located down by Oracle Park and the people who worked there. There was a family feel to the place that attracted me instantly and is still present to this day. A few weeks later, I moved to the Castro District. For several years, Cubik was mainly focused on building and hosting websites for a variety of clients that were not in adult. NakedSword was Tim’s pet project which turned out to be the one thing that kept the business afloat after the 2008 economic downturn.
We streamlined our resources and focused our attention on that site as it was our bread and butter, and here we are 20 years later thriving and still going strong. That was one of the many things I admired, and still do, about Tim, is his ability to foresee upcoming trends and get ahead of them, so we are always staying relevant and maintaining leadership in the industry. I suppose that was my inspiration to stay in a business that I never would have imagined working in.
XBIZ: Discuss how your role for the Falcon/NakedSword brand has evolved over time to your present position?
- TIFFANY: Oh boy. Well, as I said, I started as the office manager so my duties at that time were answering phones, filing, planning travel and working closely with accounting and HR to facilitate daily operations of the company. I remember one of my first assignments was to coordinate that year’s legendary NakedSword holiday party. I always laugh when I think back to that party; it was a Barbary Coast theme which we created a dance video for, to show at the event. I also recall painting go-go boys gold, preparing for them to dance on stage. I remember thinking, “This is definitely not your typical 9-5 job!”
When we merged with AEBN, I took on the position of affiliate representative with the Gunzblazing program. I worked closely with that team for several years until we decided to take NakedSword off Gunzblazing and launch our own affiliate program, NakedSwordCash, which was a huge undertaking. That was back in 2012. Since then, I have been running the program, building relationships, and carving a name for myself in the industry, albeit behind the scenes. Given the simple nature of having been around so long and having a deep understanding of the inner workings of the website, coupled with the close relationships I have made on the gay side of the industry, it was a natural fit to transition to a position of director of partners and products while still managing NakedSwordCash.
XBIZ: As director of partners and products, what are your primary duties?
TIFFANY: One of the things I enjoy about my job is that I don’t just do one thing. I have been around so long I have my hands in a bit of everything, which keeps things exciting. Working as director of partners and products really goes hand in hand with running the affiliate program because we are always looking for new ways to do business with our friends in the industry and looking for fresh opportunities and fresh products. I continue to assist in accounting and studio management, and I have been brought onto teams like Gammae and DucatiCash to help support those products. I am also honored to say I consider myself one of Tim’s right-hand people when it comes to running the company.
XBIZ: How do you juggle the many responsibilities and deadlines coming at you?
TIFFANY: Well, I have two kids, so juggling is second nature! I have always been able to multitask well, I think it is just something that comes easy to me. I do take deadlines pretty seriously, because I like things to be done correctly and on time. I never want to be the person that drops the ball, and if it does drop, I want to be there to do whatever needs to be done to pick it back up and get it back on track.
XBIZ: Give us the elevator pitch for becoming an affiliate with NakedSword Cash and what tips you offer folks.
TIFFANY: Easy! NakedSwordCash.com is the affiliate program for NakedSword.com, the home of the biggest variety of gay porn a fan can find anywhere on the internet. When you promote NakedSword as an affiliate, you give your audience access to everything they could possibly want in gay content, including more than 30,000 scenes, thousands of full movies and hundreds of studios, including exclusive content produced by our studio, NakedSword Originals. NakedSword truly is “The Netflix of Gay Porn” and gives your fans and readers more porn than they could watch in a lifetime.
XBIZ: Tell us about a successful project or marketing campaign you devised, of which you’re particularly proud.
TIFFANY: I think what I am most proud of is launching the NakedSword Cash program on the NATS platform. It was a lot of work and because I don’t have a background in development or programming. There was a lot to learn. I felt I was able to keep in step with the tech team and I believe I gained a lot of respect for the knowledge I gained from the project. I will never forget picking up our developer at 4 a.m. to go to the office to launch the program. It was an exhausting but proud day for me. Since then, I feel I have become somewhat of a NATS guru although there continues to be much to learn.
XBIZ: How do you interface and collaborate with other team members to ensure mutual success?
TIFFANY: I believe a big part of why I have been successful in this industry, and have been around for so long, is my personality. At the risk of sounding cliché, I am a people person. I really enjoy working with all the different folks I have met in this business. I treat everyone with respect and kindness, and I love when we are able to get some laughs in there as well. If you walk away from a meeting or Skype/Zoom chat with a smile on your face, then I know I am doing something right!
XBIZ: Give us a glimpse of your hobbies and personal interests when not working.
TIFFANY: I have a five-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son who keep me pretty busy! We also have a cat and a new puppy — which may have been a mistake, the jury is still out. Just kidding! We recently moved to a new state to be closer to family, so I am trying to get established and make new friends. I love singing, dancing, swimming and cooking. Three of my favorite places to be are in the kitchen, in the water or on a karaoke machine.
XBIZ: What are your ambitions for the coming year?
TIFFANY: We are working on some big projects for our sites so rolling those things out successfully are on the top of the list. What I am really looking forward to is getting back to a feeling of normalcy, settling into my new environment and hopefully getting back out to see some of my friends in the industry. It would be awesome to get some face time with colleagues I haven’t seen in a few years.
