I Want to Draw a Cat For You

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
Company typeOnline business
IndustryCustom art
Founded2011
FounderSteve Gadlin
DefunctJanuary 2015, revived in 2019, relaunched on Cameo in August 2020
Area served
Global (online)
ProductsCustom stick figure cat drawings
Websiteiwanttodrawacatforyou.com

References

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  1. ^ a b Jacobs, Harrison (15 January 2015). "How This Terrible Artist Sold 18,794 Original Drawings". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "I've traded my Sharpies for an Apple Pencil! | I Want To Draw a Cat For You!". iwanttodrawacatforyou.com. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  7. ^ "I'm drawing cats on CAMEO now!". iwanttodrawacatforyou.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  8. ^ "Cameo - Cat Drawing Guy". cameo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
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