I Want to Draw a Cat For You
 | |
| Company type | Online business |
|---|---|
| Industry | Custom art |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Steve Gadlin |
| Defunct | January 2015, revived in 2019, relaunched on Cameo in August 2020 |
Area served | Global (online) |
| Products | Custom stick figure cat drawings |
| Website | iwanttodrawacatforyou.com |
I Want to Draw a Cat For You is an online business owned by Steve Gadlin where customers can purchase custom drawings of stick figure cats that Gadlin draws to the customer's specifications.[1] Gadlin first came up with the idea as a joke,[2] with the goal of seeing if he could construct a successful business using only a widget.[3] The business started in 2011, and originally, its website consisted of only an embedded YouTube video and a PayPal button.[3] The business became well known after Gadlin appeared on Shark Tank (season three, episode two) to promote it, and, on the show, persuaded Mark Cuban to invest $25,000 in the idea.[1] Gadlin stopped accepting orders for the company in January 2015, saying that “The project has run its course.”[4]
As of November 2015, Gadlin was accepting orders for custom drawings for $29.99.[5] After a yearlong shutdown, Gadlin resurrected the business in 2019, shifting to producing drawings on an iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil; previously, drawings were made with Sharpie markers on paper and scanned.[6] The business subsequently relaunched in August 2020 on Cameo.[7][8]
I Want to Draw a Cat For You is still in business and has sold over 22,400 drawings as of July 2025.[9]
References
- ^ a b Jacobs, Harrison (15 January 2015). "How This Terrible Artist Sold 18,794 Original Drawings". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Sudo, Chuck (28 December 2011). "Gadlin Takes "I Want to Draw a Cat For You" to ABC's Shark Tank". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ a b Koetsier, John (8 June 2012). "How a 1-man cat-drawing startup won a Mark Cuban investment". Venture Beat. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Konkol, Mark (13 January 2015). "'Shark Tank' Winner Closes Cartoon Cat Business Funded by Mark Cuban". DNAInfo. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ Khan, Majid (5 November 2015). "I Want To Draw A Cat For You Update – See What Happened After Shark Tank". Gazette Review. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "I've traded my Sharpies for an Apple Pencil! | I Want To Draw a Cat For You!". iwanttodrawacatforyou.com. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
- ^ "I'm drawing cats on CAMEO now!". iwanttodrawacatforyou.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- ^ "Cameo - Cat Drawing Guy". cameo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- ^ Rugunya, Daniel (July 26, 2025). "I Want to Draw a Cat For You is Worth $200,000 After Shark Tank!". TechieGamers.