Building a Toy Empire: From Slammers to Yo-Yos

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.

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