Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Jessica Liao Mayers launched Slate Swim in 2015 with $300, a sewing machine and made-to-order products.<\/li>\n
- Slate\u2019s minimalist, seamless swimwear stood out because Mayers resisted chasing trends.<\/li>\n
- Mayers bootstrapped the company, putting revenue back into production, inventory, branding and operations rather than taking outside capital.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
She created a product that filled a gap in an industry \u2014\u00a0and scaled it to a seven-figure business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the trajectory Jessica Liao Mayers<\/a> took over the course of 11 years. Mayers grew up outside Dallas in a family of medical professionals. Fashion was not an obvious career choice. Still, a high school fashion class, one she initially took because she thought it would be easy, changed her path.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cI ended up really, really loving it,\u201d Mayers says. She competed in state and national fashion design and construction competitions, then moved to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she studied product development.<\/p>\nJessica Liao Mayers. Credit: Slate Swim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAfter graduating in 2014, Mayers quickly found work as a designer and product developer at lifestyle brand BCBG<\/a>. She learned fashion design at the company, then switched gears, jumping to apparel company Tobi<\/a> as a buyer and learning the wholesale retail side of the industry.<\/p>\nAt Tobi, Mayers encountered a problem that was good to have: She was quickly completing work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very quick,\u201d she says in a new interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy boss would give me the week\u2019s worth of work on a Monday, and I would finish it in a few hours. I\u2019d be so bored. So I was like, What do I do? <\/em>I started my own business.\u201d<\/p>\nIdentifying a gap in the market<\/h2>\n
Mayers started Slate Swim<\/a> in her home in November 2015. She spent $300 on fabric, then made products to order using a sewing machine she already owned. <\/p>\nMayers would work on Slate on the side during lunches, running around the Fashion District to purchase fabric. Then she would sew when she got home. She was just 21 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to start the brand because I needed something for myself,\u201d Mayers says. \u201cI got the idea because when I would go to buy swimsuits, I never really found something that was super comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayers identified a gap in the swimwear market. Mass-produced, thick nylon swimsuits on one end, and high-end, trendy brands on the other. She found nothing minimalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn\u2019t anything more cool and reserved, and that\u2019s very much my style,\u201d Mayers says. \u201cI like to wear very clean silhouettes, neutrals. I didn\u2019t want to put on a swimsuit and not feel like myself.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Slate](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Slate-Swim-1.jpg?w=1024\")
Spring\/Summer 2026. Credit: Slate Swim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nShe differentiated her brand from the start. Slate offers swimsuits with minimal seaming, so everything lays flat and smooth on the body. The company uses a thin, soft fabric that feels like a second skin. The first fabrics she experimented with were actually lining fabrics, which was unusual at the time. <\/p>\n
Mayers says that in the 11 years she has led Slate, she has seen the industry change tremendously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I came in at a really good time when social media really wasn\u2019t being used for brands,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s part of why we grew so quickly as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
A major leap<\/h2>\n
Before Mayers had inventory or a manufacturer, Agenda Trade Show<\/a> discovered Slate\u2019s early Instagram account<\/a>, which Mayers used to share inspiration and teasers. The surf- and skate-focused show wanted to bring in swim brands and invited her to exhibit.\u00a0<\/p>\nMayers accepted. She signed up for the show even though she was actually supposed to go to that same show as a buyer for her company, Tobi. She had to tell her employer with a week\u2019s notice that she had to quit because she was going to be showing there as a brand. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey had no idea,\u201d Mayers said. \u201cIt was really insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the timing of the show created a problem.<\/p>\n
She created a product that filled a gap in an industry \u2014\u00a0and scaled it to a seven-figure business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the trajectory Jessica Liao Mayers<\/a> took over the course of 11 years. Mayers grew up outside Dallas in a family of medical professionals. Fashion was not an obvious career choice. Still, a high school fashion class, one she initially took because she thought it would be easy, changed her path.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI ended up really, really loving it,\u201d Mayers says. She competed in state and national fashion design and construction competitions, then moved to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, where she studied product development.<\/p>\n After graduating in 2014, Mayers quickly found work as a designer and product developer at lifestyle brand BCBG<\/a>. She learned fashion design at the company, then switched gears, jumping to apparel company Tobi<\/a> as a buyer and learning the wholesale retail side of the industry.<\/p>\n At Tobi, Mayers encountered a problem that was good to have: She was quickly completing work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was very quick,\u201d she says in a new interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy boss would give me the week\u2019s worth of work on a Monday, and I would finish it in a few hours. I\u2019d be so bored. So I was like, What do I do? <\/em>I started my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayers started Slate Swim<\/a> in her home in November 2015. She spent $300 on fabric, then made products to order using a sewing machine she already owned. <\/p>\n Mayers would work on Slate on the side during lunches, running around the Fashion District to purchase fabric. Then she would sew when she got home. She was just 21 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cI needed to start the brand because I needed something for myself,\u201d Mayers says. \u201cI got the idea because when I would go to buy swimsuits, I never really found something that was super comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayers identified a gap in the swimwear market. Mass-produced, thick nylon swimsuits on one end, and high-end, trendy brands on the other. She found nothing minimalist.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere wasn\u2019t anything more cool and reserved, and that\u2019s very much my style,\u201d Mayers says. \u201cI like to wear very clean silhouettes, neutrals. I didn\u2019t want to put on a swimsuit and not feel like myself.\u201d<\/p>\n She differentiated her brand from the start. Slate offers swimsuits with minimal seaming, so everything lays flat and smooth on the body. The company uses a thin, soft fabric that feels like a second skin. The first fabrics she experimented with were actually lining fabrics, which was unusual at the time. <\/p>\n Mayers says that in the 11 years she has led Slate, she has seen the industry change tremendously.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think I came in at a really good time when social media really wasn\u2019t being used for brands,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that\u2019s part of why we grew so quickly as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Before Mayers had inventory or a manufacturer, Agenda Trade Show<\/a> discovered Slate\u2019s early Instagram account<\/a>, which Mayers used to share inspiration and teasers. The surf- and skate-focused show wanted to bring in swim brands and invited her to exhibit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayers accepted. She signed up for the show even though she was actually supposed to go to that same show as a buyer for her company, Tobi. She had to tell her employer with a week\u2019s notice that she had to quit because she was going to be showing there as a brand. <\/p>\n \u201cThey had no idea,\u201d Mayers said. \u201cIt was really insane.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the timing of the show created a problem.<\/p>\nIdentifying a gap in the market<\/h2>\n
A major leap<\/h2>\n