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How I Built This with Guy Raz
How I Built This with Guy Raz

Advice Line with Carlton Calvin of Razor

August 20, 2026 • 42m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

Carlton Calvin, founder of Razor USA, joins Guy Raz on The Advice Line to help entrepreneurs navigate challenges in product development, marketing, and scaling. The episode features three diverse businesses: a party game creator seeking growth strategies, a stationery designer looking to stand out in a crowded market, and a craft distillery struggling with profitability. Carlton shares his expertise in identifying trends, the importance of delegation, and the value of focusing on core products while building brand presence through authentic storytelling.

Carlton Calvin's Journey and Philosophy on Product Trends

Carlton reflects on Razor's continued success, revealing they still sell nearly a million classic aluminum scooters annually. He's working to institutionalize his trend-spotting abilities by developing an algorithm to teach others. Carlton discusses how being more aggressive in seeking trends yields opportunities, citing the recent hacky sack revival as an example where Razor quickly capitalized on the trend.

  • Razor still sells close to a million classic scooters per year despite being decades old
  • Carlton is trying to create an algorithm to institutionalize his trend-seeking abilities for succession planning
  • Hacky sacks are experiencing a major revival, and Razor already has them shipping
  • Being actively engaged in trend-seeking reveals more opportunities than passive observation
" I've got amazing people that work for me that are super capable. But this weird talent that I have for the new product, that's very, very hard to find a new person. "
" The things that really shift the culture are rare, but if you keep your eyes open, there's more than you would ordinarily think. "

The Reality of Patent Protection for Small Brands

Carlton opens up about winning a patent infringement case against hoverboard copycats but reveals the sobering reality: while the legal victory helps clean up the market, collecting damages from small competitors with no assets makes the process financially draining. The discussion highlights how the patent system works better for large companies than small brands fighting copycats.

  • Patent lawsuits cost millions of dollars but copycats often have no assets to collect damages from
  • Winning patent cases helps clean up the market but doesn't necessarily result in financial recovery
  • The patent system functions well for drugs and big companies with deep pockets, but not for small competitors
  • Many brands focus on building brand strength rather than pursuing costly legal battles
" It costs millions and millions of dollars to do a patent case. And then you get nothing except helping to clean up the market. It's very, very challenging. "

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