Sometimes, the simplest (and silliest) ideas go the furthest. Steve Gadlin launched a quirky online business called “I Want to Draw a Cat For You”, selling stick-figure cat drawings. Against all odds, he pitched it on Shark Tank and landed a deal with Mark Cuban. Right now, I Want to Draw a Cat For You is worth an estimated $200,000.
Steve Gadlin’s Story
Steve Gadlin was born on February 27, 1976, in Illinois. He earned a degree in creative writing from Miami University and went on to explore a variety of careers.
He started as a web developer, working for companies like LifeServ, Heitman, and Chicago Public Radio, where he later advanced to web manager roles. Along the way, he co-created the call-in comedy show Talkin’ Funny on CAN21 and built a career as a writer, comedian, and entrepreneur.
Setting Up the Business
The Chicago native experimented with running a random online business idea. He thought about selling custom stick figure cats initially as a joke, but he ultimately built a website for it.
The site was officially launched in 2011, originally it was just a PayPal button and a YouTube video. To order users need to pay around $10 and describe a cat and scenario for him to draw. Steve revealed he could draw around 25 custom stick cat figures in an hour and 1,000 in a week.
Because the business was just him drawing cats, it wasn’t scalable. However, he also had problems getting enough orders and sold 1,200 cat drawings in a year. So, he believed a seasoned investor could help him reach his full capacity.
Still in Business Following Shark Tank
After the deal closed with Mark, Steve’s website traffic skyrocketed and got a huge bump in orders from Shark Tank fans. By 2014, he had already sold 18,794 custom drawings and as agreed, Cuban pitched in and drew 10 cats!
He also started making cat-themed novelty items like t-shirts. However, in 2015, the founder stepped away from the business as he was busy filming a new TV show, Steve Gadlin’s Star Makers and the comedy program Talkin’ Funny. Steve restarted the business in 2019, producing drawings on an iPad Pro.
In 2020, he resurrected the business again and sold each piece for $10. On his website, Steve confirmed he will be drawing one cat per day in 2022 and all money collected from drawing cats will be donated to a non-profit organization. Due to demand, Steve is booked out for the next few months and the drawings now sell for $29.95! All the drawings are sent digitally.
In an interview in July 2021, Steve shared he had sold 21,110 drawings. This would mean the company has made over $200,000. Still, his long break slowed down the growth of the business. This is why I Want to Draw a Cat For You is valued at just $200,000. As of July 2025, Steve has sold over 22,400 drawings according to his website.
It’s slightly disappointing the company hasn’t become a commercial success and Gadlin should have expanded into greeting cards. Still, his shoulder shimmy will go down in Shark Tank history.
A Quirky Shark Tank Pitch
In 2012, Steve appeared on Season 3 of Shark Tank, back when the show was still finding its footing. The quirky entrepreneur was looking for an investment of $10,000 for 25%. He used humor by giving a musical presentation and dropping dance moves while explaining his business.
He made all the Sharks laugh, even billionaire Mark Cuban was dancing in his seat. After the lively intro, Steve got straight to the point, declaring, “There is an economy for stupid, and I am overflowing with it.” With the universal appeal of his product, he was hoping it would become the next pet rock.
Kevin O’Leary expressed how he seldom invests in artists, so he opted out. Robert Herjavec made the same decision with concerns about profit margins. Despite this, Mark Cuban did not hesitate to offer $25,000 for 33%, and Steve happily accepted.
