A contentious product debuted in Season 4 of Shark Tank, which was broadcast in 2012. The product was known as the CATE App, which stands for “Call and Text Eraser.” The entrepreneur presenting the product was Neal Desai. This app was intended to conceal texts and phone calls on a smartphone from others. The controversy arose as Desai was at ease with the app being promoted as a tool for individuals to deceive their partners. Although the panel of potential investors on the show, the sharks, showed tentative interest and made an offer, the deal was never executed post-show. Currently, the CATE App is out of business.
While agreements are occasionally reached during a Shark Tank episode, nothing is finalized until the due diligence phase after the broadcast. In the case of the Hopscotch app from Season 12, a proposal was made but never completed. Nevertheless, the Hopscotch app continued to prosper afterward.
The CATE App wasn’t initially Desai’s own concept, even though he sought to turn it into a business. It was created by police officer Phil Immler to minimize domestic conflicts. His design stemmed from his experience witnessing incidents unfold after partners were displeased with what they discovered on their significant other’s phone. Desai, however, had a different vision for the app.
Details of the Shark Tank agreement
Neal Desai entered Shark Tank with some traction already behind the CATE App. It had more than 5,000 subscribers, with a charge of $4.99 per app download. Opting for a pay-per-download model is intriguing, as those attempting to conceal infidelity or actions from abusive partners might also need to account for a bank charge. Desai requested a $50,000 investment for a 5% equity stake in the venture.
Sharks Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban disapproved of the ethical implications of the app and its marketing as a tool for cheaters. They were quickly disinterested in investing. However, the other sharks expressed greater interest if Desai agreed to rebrand the product as a privacy app instead. After some negotiation, a deal was eventually solidified by Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John.
Yet, akin to the ReThink anti-bullying app from Season 8, this deal was never finalized following the show. Despite this, the app garnered attention during the episode. Following the broadcast, there were 10,000 downloads, predominantly by women. However, after that initial spike, the app seemingly failed to develop as Desai intended, leading to its unavailability for download.
The CATE App post-show
After Shark Tank, Desai attempted to promote the CATE App to federal agencies as a confidentiality tool for sensitive information, potentially following the sharks’ advice on how it should be reconfigured and redirected. However, it seems that nothing materialized, as the app is no longer operational.
The only trace of the CATE App on social media is a YouTube channel for the product, although the most recent video was uploaded 14 years ago at the time of this writing. It does direct to a website that appears to have gone offline. One of the videos is titled “Cheaters App for Android! #1 Selling 5-Star CATE”. Perhaps Desai’s struggle to detach the app from its cheating implications contributed to its failure. Even though the episode aired in 2012, people still recall the app and discuss it in online forums.
Had Desai been able to adhere to the app’s original intent and successfully rebranded with the support of Shark Tank, the app might have emerged as one of the essential applications for victims of domestic violence, akin to Aspire, eBodyGuard, or Looped Fusion Portal. Therefore, while the CATE App gained interest on Shark Tank, it ultimately secured no deal and did not endure long after the episode.