Long before she was a marketing major at TCNJ, Daniella Conte ’27 was already building her own brand from the ground up.
At just 12 years old, Conte turned a popular middle school trend into a full-fledged business. Slime — the squishy, stretchy, gooey sensory toy — was wildly popular among her classmates, who made and sold it to each other during school hours. But when the trend became too disruptive, her school banned it entirely. Rather than dropping the idea, Conte saw an opportunity beyond her school.
“I asked my parents if I could start a website and social media account,” she said. “That’s how Slimey Seas was born.”
With their permission, she began selling her own handmade slime online and outside of school, first to local customers and then to buyers across the country. What started as small artisanal batches has grown into an online presence with thousands of followers on Instagram and a national customer base.
In a few short years, Conte had amassed 10,000 followers and was invited to Slime Bash, the world’s largest slime convention, where she sold her themed creations in person to more than 6,000 attendees. Now she has nearly 14,000 slime aficionados following her Instagram account, @_slimeyseas, eagerly awaiting her next creation.
Her slime variations, often inspired by pop culture, are set apart from the pack thanks to her creative mix-ins, scents, and colors. For example, her “Joyce’s Lights” slime is themed after the hit show Stranger Things. In this creation, clear slime is combined with rainbow letter beads and glitter to mimic the colorful Christmas lights and alphabet that the show’s main character uses to communicate with the supernatural world.
“I like to think of it as crafting an experience, not just a product,” she said.
Now a junior at TCNJ, Conte balances her academic life with the demands of being a one-woman show: developing, producing, packaging, and shipping every order herself. She says every batch is handmade.
“It’s challenging now that I’m away at school, but I work around my schedule and plan restocks and prepare for events when I’m home.”
Her entrepreneurial spirit hasn’t stopped at slime. Conte launched a second business as a content creator and influencer. What began with promoting other slime shops grew into collaborations with major brands like Oreo, Coca-Cola, and Prada. Her content now spans product promotions, event coverage, travel collaborations, and influencer marketing.
At TCNJ, her marketing coursework is already influencing how she manages her ventures.
“As I take more marketing classes, I’ve started applying what I’m learning to both my businesses,” she said. “I also lead marketing and social media for the campus recreation center, which has helped me hone those skills even more.”
For aspiring entrepreneurs, her advice is simple: “Dream big and just go for it. If you never try, you’ll never know.”
— Emily W. Dodd ’03