Marissa Hochster

Marissa Fetter Hochster is the founder and CEO of Hylite, a platform that enables real-time, positive-only feedback for frontline teams in hospitality. The idea for Hylite was inspired by Darryl, the barista at Marissa’s neighborhood Starbucks, who had her order ready every morning before she walked in. After realizing there was no good way to publicly recognize him, she created one. Hylite makes it easy for guests to recognize individual employees, with each message shared directly with the employee and their manager. By capturing authentic, in-the-moment praise, Hylite helps companies boost retention, elevate the guest experience, and increase positive online reviews.

Before founding Hylite, Marissa spent over a decade focused on employee development and people strategy. She led new hire and business development programs at Goldman Sachs, and previously held roles at Ripple Labs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she advised senior leadership on talent and performance. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA with honors from the University of Texas at Austin.