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Carlton Calvin: Razor. The wild rise, collapse, and reinvention of a mobile toy empire.

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Manage episode 505133011 series 2487524
Content provided by Guy Raz | Wondery. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Guy Raz | Wondery or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In the summer of 2000, Razor scooters were everywhere—on sidewalks, in schools, even in Silicon Valley offices. At the center of it all was Carlton Calvin, an ex-lawyer turned toy mogul who had already ridden—and crashed—multiple crazes, from Pogs to yo-yos.

Carlton knew how to spot what kids wanted before the world caught on. But when Razor went from selling a million scooters a month to zero almost overnight, his business teetered on collapse.

This is a story about timing, obsession and instinct: knowing kids would snap up Slammers with scorpions inside, seeing the potential of a sleek new scooter from Taiwan, and learning how to turn a craze into a lasting global brand.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why most “overnight successes” collapse as quickly as they rise
  • The power of partnerships– and trust– in scaling quickly
  • How to think like your customer (in Carlton’s case, a 10-year-old boy)

This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Maggie Luthar.

Follow How I Built This:

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  continue reading

785 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 505133011 series 2487524
Content provided by Guy Raz | Wondery. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Guy Raz | Wondery or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

In the summer of 2000, Razor scooters were everywhere—on sidewalks, in schools, even in Silicon Valley offices. At the center of it all was Carlton Calvin, an ex-lawyer turned toy mogul who had already ridden—and crashed—multiple crazes, from Pogs to yo-yos.

Carlton knew how to spot what kids wanted before the world caught on. But when Razor went from selling a million scooters a month to zero almost overnight, his business teetered on collapse.

This is a story about timing, obsession and instinct: knowing kids would snap up Slammers with scorpions inside, seeing the potential of a sleek new scooter from Taiwan, and learning how to turn a craze into a lasting global brand.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why most “overnight successes” collapse as quickly as they rise
  • The power of partnerships– and trust– in scaling quickly
  • How to think like your customer (in Carlton’s case, a 10-year-old boy)

This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Maggie Luthar.

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram

@howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook

How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram

@guy.raz

X → @guyraz

Substack

guyraz.substack.com

Website

guyraz.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  continue reading

785 episodes

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