Overview
Worthy, Inc.
25 W 45Th St Ste 200
New York, New York, 10036-4902, United States
+1-888-222-0208
www.worthy.com
🔥 Get the backstory on this job. 🔥
About the job:
We are a group of people that are not only passionate about our work but about each other and our customers. Our flat hierarchy and organizational structure create an open environment where all feel comfortable to voice ideas, and we love the smart, creative minds of people who take pride in what they do.
Reporting directly to the CEO and a member of the Executive Leadership team, the Chief Marketing Officer will play an instrumental role in unlocking Worthy’s next chapter of growth. Worthy has recently merged with Circa Jewels and the CMO will be responsible for the marketing strategy of both brands. Building on a foundation anchored in content-driven performance marketing, they will elevate capabilities to accelerate the acquisition and retention in Worthy and CIRCA’s complex funnels while building brand awareness and brand strength for both lines of business.
What You’ll Do:
- Create and navigate the post-merger integration strategy for our two brands, Worthy & Circa Jewels
- Develop and execute an integrated marketing communication plan to promote both brands
- Accelerate growth by unlocking the supply side of the business through effective ROI positive marketing strategies, with a focus on customer acquisition and retention throughout Worthy & Circa Jewels unique funnels
- Manage external agency partners and develop long term strategy for coverage (e.g., in-sourcing vs. out-souring)
- Drive brand awareness and brand strengths by defining how to anchor the value proposition across all consumer touchpoints for both Worthy & Circa Jewels
- Lead the strategy of all marketing campaigns, including digital marketing, social media, email marketing, and advertising
- Develop and manage marketing budgets, ensuring efficient use of resources and ROI
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to align marketing strategies with overall business objectives
- Utilize data to optimize the marketing spending and deliver recommendations for other executive team members such as product, strategy, sales and operations.
- Determine optimal organizational structure of the new combined marketing team, including the identification and filling of any gaps
- Mentor and lead a dispersed, global team of high performing individuals
Who You Are:
- Strategic thinker, capable of conceptualizing, developing and articulating strategic vision and influencing an organization to move toward that vision
- Proven track record of delivering results in a dynamic, high-growth environment
- Drives toward goals, takes initiative
- A strong, and kind communicator with professional direct verbal & written skills
- Ability to work cross functionally with different teams and company stakeholders
- Highly organized with the ability adapt to changing business needs and ability to manage multiple moving parts
- Self-motivated and results-oriented, strategic thinker with an ability to learn, contribute, and are willing to take full ownership over Seller Support
What You Have:
- BA in relevant field; MBA in Marketing or Strategic Planning strongly preferred.
- 15+ years marketing experience with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership, including content, digital & performance marketing, lifecycle marketing, and marketing analytics
- 10+ years of experience hiring, managing, and developing both individual contributors and senior leaders
- Direct experience scaling a brand
- Strong analytical capabilities, coupled with a creative flair to balance data with innovation
- Outstanding communication skills to rally teams and present compelling strategies to stakeholders
- Must be able to commute to Midtown Manhattan office full-time with ample flexibility in your schedule as needed
What We’ll Give You:
- Compensation between $250,000-$350,000 OTE (mix of base and potential performance-driven bonus)
- A supportive, inclusive culture in an organization that values your contributions
- Opportunities for personal and professional growth through work experience and mentorship
- An attractive and equitable compensation package, including salary and stock options
- A generous benefits program featuring generous PTO, comprehensive medical, dental, vision and other health benefits
- 401K plan, commuter program, learning & development resources, health & wellness perks (i.e. free therapy sessions, discounted pet insurance)
Worthy runs online jewelry auctions - think eBay but for your grandmother's diamond ring. They merged with CIRCA Jewels in 2024, combining their digital auction platform with CIRCA's network of 20+ physical offices worldwide. The company targets people selling inherited jewelry, divorce rings, and luxury watches they no longer want.
The online jewelry resale market hit $14.3 billion in 2024 and keeps growing. But here's the uncomfortable truth: most people hate selling jewelry online because they don't trust strangers with expensive, emotional items. Worthy built their business solving that trust problem.
Market Reality Check
This isn't a typical e-commerce play. Luxury resale depends on both desperate sellers and flush buyers existing at the same time. When the economy wobbles, sellers hold onto assets hoping for better prices, while buyers disappear to preserve cash. The luxury watch market already showed this - values dropped 30% in 2023 when demand dried up.
Amazon dominates online jewelry sales with 40% market share, but they're not chasing the high-touch, authenticated resale business. That's good news for Worthy, but it also means they're fighting for scraps in a specialized niche rather than riding a massive growth wave.
Key Challenges the New CMO Will Face
The Trust Problem That Never Goes Away
Every new customer starts from zero trust. Unlike buying a book on Amazon, selling a $10,000 engagement ring to strangers online feels risky and emotional. Worthy's answer is radical transparency - third-party grading, insured shipping, real-time auction tracking. This works but costs money and time. The new CMO inherits a marketing challenge where every campaign must overcome deep-seated skepticism.
Two Brands, Unclear Value
The CIRCA merger created operational opportunities but marketing headaches. Customers don't understand when to use Worthy's auctions versus CIRCA's cash offers. This confusion shows up in messy conversion funnels and diluted marketing messages. The CMO will spend significant time just explaining what the company actually does.
One-Time Revenue Model
Most customers sell jewelry once in their lifetime - during divorce, death, or financial stress. There's no subscription revenue, no repeat purchases, no loyalty programs that matter. Every dollar of growth comes from finding new customers, not growing existing relationships. This makes customer acquisition costs critical and limits long-term value creation.
Emotional Friction Everywhere
Selling wedding rings and family heirlooms triggers guilt, sadness, and second-guessing. The public nature of auctions can feel inappropriate for private grief. Extended auction timelines give customers time to change their minds. The CMO must market to people making emotionally charged decisions under financial pressure - not exactly a marketer's dream scenario.
What Success Looks Like (And What Failure Looks Like)
Success means solving the repeat engagement problem. The winning CMO will figure out how to stay connected with customers after their initial sale, whether through market insights, trade-in programs, or buyer-side services. They'll also crack the brand integration challenge and present one clear value proposition instead of confusing dual brands.
Failure looks like becoming a performance marketing hamster wheel. If the CMO can't build organic brand awareness and customer referrals, they'll burn through cash buying expensive Google ads forever. Worse, they'll lose pricing power as competitors offer simpler, faster cash offers that bypass the emotional complexity of auctions.
Smart Questions to Ask in Interviews
1. "What percentage of revenue currently comes from repeat customers versus first-time sellers?" (If it's under 5%, you're building a customer acquisition machine, not a brand.)
2. "How do you currently measure the success of CIRCA versus Worthy channels?" (If they can't answer clearly, the integration is messier than they're admitting.)
3. "What's the average time from initial inquiry to completed sale?" (If it's over 30 days, you're fighting modern expectations for instant gratification.)
4. "Show me last quarter's customer acquisition costs by channel." (If they won't share or the numbers are rising, budget conversations will be painful.)
How to Position Yourself
Emphasize experience with high-consideration purchases - B2B sales, real estate, financial services, luxury goods. Avoid talking about fast-moving consumer goods or performance marketing tricks. This company needs someone who understands complex, emotional sales cycles.
Show data-driven brand building skills. They need someone who can measure brand awareness and customer sentiment, not just click-through rates. Experience with NPS programs, brand tracking studies, and customer journey optimization will resonate.
Don't oversell growth hacking. If you focus on viral marketing tactics or rapid scaling strategies, you'll signal that you don't understand their trust-dependent business model. This is a relationship business disguised as a technology platform.
Salary Negotiation Intel
Based on the merger timing and market conditions, this likely feels like a "prove yourself first" role rather than an immediate big investment. The company probably has budget flexibility given the CIRCA acquisition, but they're also dealing with integration costs and market uncertainty.
Market rate for CMOs at similar-sized e-commerce companies ranges $200-350K plus equity, but luxury resale expertise commands a premium. Don't accept below $225K base - if they can't meet that threshold, they're not serious about investing in marketing leadership.
Bottom Line Assessment
This is a real business solving real problems, but it's not going to be easy money. The new CMO walks into operational complexity, brand confusion, and a revenue model that fights against customer lifetime value.
The upside: luxury resale keeps growing, the company has genuine competitive advantages through authentication expertise, and the merger creates unique capabilities that competitors can't easily replicate.
The downside: every marketing dollar must overcome emotional friction and trust barriers that don't exist in typical e-commerce. Plus, you're building awareness for a service most people hope they never need.
Worth pursuing if: You've successfully marketed high-consideration purchases and enjoy building trust-based brands. The problem is solvable and the market is real.
Skip if: You prefer fast-feedback marketing loops or need predictable customer acquisition economics. This business model requires patience and deep pockets.
Analysis based on publicly available information including company websites, press releases, and industry reports.
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