Behind the Build: Five Years of Good Time Creative
Five years ago, Marissa Hohner launched Good Time Creative (GTC) from the guest bedroom of her Chicago apartment. She had left her job with two months of savings and one big idea: to build an agency where she could do work she loved, with people she trusted, for clients and brands she believed in.
Hohner invested most of those savings into developing GTC’s brand identity. She knew that if she wanted to work with brands she admired, she needed to create an agency they would be equally excited to work with. Some might call spending nearly all her savings before securing her first client irresponsible. For Hohner, it was a nonnegotiable bet on her vision—and the first of many decisions that taught her to trust her gut, make the decision and make it happen.
Launching an experiential agency during an industry-wide shutdown was part of her strategy. Hohner believed in-person events would return and that the industry’s pivot to digital trade shows would not last. Instead of waiting, she used the time to build momentum and prepare GTC for when the industry began moving again.
Although Hohner founded the company independently, she had the early support of Grace Pastore, a trusted friend and creative powerhouse who helped bring GTC’s first projects to life. Pastore now serves as GTC’s Creative Director and continues to shape the agency’s creative work and team.
Today, GTC includes sixteen full-time employees, two interns and five contract traveling supervisors, with plans to add four more full-time roles before the end of 2026. Its clients range from emerging startups to globally recognized names in food, beverage, wellness and beauty.
Building While the Industry Stood Still
Before show floors reopened, GTC produced outdoor pop-ups, influencer and PR kits, and custom merchandise. Today, 70 percent of its work focuses on custom trade show exhibits and experiential activations, with influencer kits and branded merchandise making up the remaining 30 percent.
“There was very little room to fail,” Hohner says. “I knew I had one shot to get it right and that our future growth and success depended on what the growing team and I did each day.”
From 7 to 50+
Natural Products Expo West has played an important role in GTC’s story. In 2022, the agency supported seven exhibitors, including Belgian Boys, for which it created the memorable “French Toast Factory.” Playful, immersive and unmistakably true to the brand, the exhibit helped define the kind of work GTC wanted to be known for.
“Anouck Gotlib, CEO of Belgian Boys, trusted my company to bring her concept to life when I was still operating GTC out of my apartment’s guest bedroom,” Hohner says. “I will never forget that.”
In 2026, GTC supported more than 50 brands at Expo West, including longtime partners Belgian Boys and Chomps, along with Bloom Nutrition, MALK, Spindrift and Minor Figures. BizBash has also featured GTC projects for Chomps, Bloom, Hint Water, ALOHA and Cravings by Chrissy Teigen among Expo West’s most eye-catching exhibits.
“The growth is surreal, and I am extremely proud,” Hohner says. “But I want to remain focused on quality over quantity. This season pushed our team to reach new heights. We know what we are capable of now, but my goal for 2027 is to refine our processes and continue improving how we serve our clients as we grow.”
Four weeks after Expo West, GTC supported another 25 brands at Ulta Beauty World. That roster included longtime client Ulta Beauty, along with new brand partners such as Sabrina Carpenter’s Sweet Tooth fragrance and Ariana Grande’s r.e.m. beauty.
“We take a minute to get giddy when celebrity-backed brand names come through the marketing inbox,” Hohner says. “Then we get to work just as we would for any other client.”
Every project begins with the same question: How can GTC bring the brand’s personality to life in a way that feels original and authentic?
The team looks beyond walls, counters and graphics to consider what draws attendees from the aisle, invites them inside and stays with them afterward. GTC specializes in transforming booths into immersive environments—from a French Toast Factory to Sabrina Carpenter’s Sweetie Pie’s Diner.
“The brand’s personality should come through in everything—from the structure, props and styling to the brand ambassador outfits and giveaways,” Hohner says.
The Work Behind the Work
GTC’s physical footprint has expanded with its client roster. In 2023, its five-person team moved into a 1,400-square-foot office in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. By 2024, the team had doubled and moved into a 2,500-square-foot suite in the same building. One year later, GTC reclaimed its original office and cut a doorway between the two spaces—connecting where the company started with what it had become.
For Hohner, the next chapter is not about accepting every project. It is about applying lessons learned, strengthening the company’s team and processes, and protecting the quality of its work.
Cool Work, Serious Business
GTC’s motto, “Do Cool Sh*t. Have a Good Time,” reflects the culture Hohner wanted to create: one where people care deeply about the work without losing the fun that comes through in the finished experience.
Deadlines are real, budgets matter and mistakes cannot be hidden once the show floor doors open. Still, the long days and difficult installations are outweighed by the moment the show floor lights come on and the team sees what it accomplished together.
Hohner calls each installation an “extreme team-building experience.”
“You have two, maybe three, days to make the impossible happen,” she says. “Then the doors open, and no one knows what your team went through to get there. But we know. That shared experience makes us stronger.”
Five Years in Five Words
Asked to describe GTC’s first five years in five words, Hohner chooses: “Scary, formative, unpredictable, rewarding and worthwhile.”
The company looks very different from the one she launched in her guest bedroom five years ago, but its roots remain the same: do work worth caring about, build it with people you believe in and have a Good Time along the way.
Good Time Creative is an independent, female-founded experiential agency based in Chicago. Visit www.goodtimecreative.com.
This story originally appeared in the Q4 2025 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 22. For original layout, see Print Version
