Hyite is a positive-only feedback platform to recognize frontline employees.
Alongside our amazing students, Sage Corps’ programming is powered by game-changing startups — high-impact entrepreneurs tackling real problems and building real solutions. They host our students and help them through their career development. For our second Startup Spotlight, we interviewed Hylite CEO Marissa Fetter Hochster.
Q. Please tell me a little bit about yourself!
I have always been fascinated by organizational dynamics and finding ways to boost employee morale. I spent 10+ years focused on people development and employee success at investment banks before starting Hylite, where I can now use my passion to help frontline employees everywhere.
From a personal perspective, I’m originally from Chicago, went to UT-Austin for undergrad (Hook em!), and got my MBA from Harvard Business School. After living in NYC for almost a decade, I now live in Dallas with my husband and two-year-old son.
Q. How did the idea for your company come about?
It was actually over some tacos at our favorite spot in Brooklyn. My husband and I were moving in a couple weeks, so we were reminiscing about all the places we’d lived in NYC. I was recounting that what I missed most about my old neighborhood was my favorite barista, Darryl. He was such a bright spot in my day that I actually walked out of my way to his Starbucks each morning instead of going to the one right next to my office. I realized Darryl’s manager had no idea the positive influence he had on me – and probably countless others.
I started thinking about all the other frontline employees who had enriched my life over the years, and it pained me that they didn’t have an avenue for recognition. I had seen the power of positive feedback in the corporate world – even just one encouraging email from a manager could keep someone motivated for months – and in that moment I knew I needed to bring the feedback that’s commonplace in the corporate world to the frontline employees we encounter every day.
Q. What triggered your entrepreneurial adventure?
A lot of people know they want to start their own company and their journey begins with identifying the problem they wanted to solve. My experience was the reverse. Once I realized we could create a simple and effective way to recognize frontline employees while also helping businesses solve their #1 problem – retaining great talent – I knew I had to bring this idea to life.
Q. What motivates you every day?
Knowing that we are providing frontline employees with personalized, thoughtful, positive-only feedback they have never received before. Ely, a Burger House employee, told me that Hylite made him realize he’s not just serving burgers and fries – he’s actually making a difference in people’s lives. That stuck with me and motivates me to push the business forward every day.
Q. What does success look like for your company?
When I see the look on employees’ faces and the happy tears when they read their Hylites, I know that Hylite is already a success. In the near term, we strive to become the household name for all positive, feel-good feedback for customer-facing employees. And over time we hope to improve the lives of frontline employees in many different ways: career advancement, hiring, upskilling, etc.
Q. What are some hardships that you’ve faced? How did you overcome them?
I have faced many challenges – one of which has been finding incredible talent with limited resources. I am incredibly grateful for SageCorps and Experience Lab, as the students I have hired from those programs have been transformational for our business. They bring diverse expertise and have become true partners in the business. I can’t recommend SageCorps and Experience Lab highly enough!
Q. What qualities do you look for in your interns?
Attitude and work ethic are by far the most important attributes I look for in interns. While acquired skills and experience are important, the most impactful interns have been hard-working, passionate about Hylite’s mission, and eager to add value.
Q. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned during your professional journey?
Building my network has been invaluable, both personally and professionally. Beyond the satisfaction of fulfilling friendships and working relationships, those in my network have helped me advance professionally in many different ways. They have introduced me to employers, to mentors, to potential clients, etc. – and importantly they’ve been my champions and supporters all along the way.
Q. Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
If you have an idea you’re excited about, just get out there and try it. It doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t need to be working on it full time to start – just launch the most inexpensive pilot possible to see if the idea has traction. More so than the idea itself, success is all about execution. Get out there and execute!
