We've all been there: you open a bottle of wine you've never tried after a long day, take a sip ready to settle into a nice night, and realize it's… not it
In 2026, picking wine is harder than it has to be. Whether you are out to dinner or grabbing a bottle on your way to a friends place, there are so many options with labels that don’t say much. Our founder felt like there were only two options: become a sommelier, or grab a bottle with a cute label( which leads to some hits and some misses). So she built a third option, a way to find wine she'd actually like, effortlessly.
Answer a few quick questions about your budget, your vibe, and wines you already enjoy (no wine knowledge required), and Theodora recommends bottles instantly and tells you exactly where to buy them.
We sit at the intersection of personalization, culture, and commerce and we believe this is the next major shift in how everyday people pick wine. This isn't a niche improvement. It's a category change.
We're early, the signal is strong (written about by Fast Company and Geekwire), and the window to build this right is now.
For too long, the answer in the wine aisle has been more. More options. More information. But most people don't want more. It's been a long day. We want a glass of wine to reset, and one less thing to think about. We want to buy good wine without feeling small, confused, or hesitant. We want to know what we like, so we can pick confidently and effortlessly.
The wine world wasn't built for most consumers. Until now.
We launched in November 2025, early traction is strong, and our customer base is growing. Now we're ready to grow the team.
FOUNDING MARKETING LEAD (contract to hire)
We’re hiring a Founding Marketing Lead to help us reach more Theodora users and build the way people discover, trust, and fall in love with what we’re building.
This is a foundational role. You won’t be inheriting a playbook, you’ll be writing it. The work you do here will shape what Theodora (and if I may be so bold, the industry) becomes.
What is the position?
This person is responsible for all marketing efforts at Theodora. You will strategize and execute all efforts to help the company grow.
Simply put, this is a marketing generalist role, positioning Theodora to become the go-to wine app for casual sippers.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Define and evolve how Theodora shows up in the world across branding, positioning, messaging, storytelling, and personas to make it more magnetic to our customers
- Test, experiment, and iterate to find repeatable channels of growth.
- Own decisions around what we test, what we stop, and what we double down on with the mission of finding traction that sticks.
- Grow theodora userbase by exploring and validating marketing channels like: social platforms, influencers/partnerships/UGC, GEO, founder-led socials, events, email marketing, and other community-building efforts. The idea isn’t to do all of these, but to figure out the optimal ones to try.
- Work closely with CEO to translate internal wins to external narratives
- Build early community of loyal users
Success in this position looks like identifying 1–2 channels with early signs of repeatability, building a clear experimentation cadence, and driving consistent growth in Theodora users. Success isn’t getting every test we try right. It’s learning quickly to make smarter bets over time.
About the Interview with the founder, Jess
- Screening call
- Deep dive chat
- Take-home assessment & presentation
- A true generalist with an “I’ll figure it out” mindset
- Analytical and data-driven, confident driving metrics and iterating quickly ( the founder comes from a data background so this is integral to the company culture!)
- 5 years of proven experience in marketing (branding, community, social content creation, SEO, paid ads, and sales copywriting).
- You’ve built an audience before: whether that is socials, community, or a business.
- Up to date on the latest strategies for growing apps online
- Strong design and copywriting skills, with the creativity and drive to build a magnetic brand from 0 to 1
- Confident shaping strategy while also rolling up your sleeves to operate and execute
- Experience at a pre-seed/early-stage startup or consumer app where you’ve worn multiple hats
- Energized by scrappy, fast-paced, high-ownership environments
- Highly creative, with strong instincts for what grabs attention and feels culturally relevant
- You’ve tried Theodora and identify as the ICP
We aren’t looking for someone with wine knowledge, we are looking for someone who struggles in the wine aisle and wants to help make wine shopping better for us all. The current playbook (& jargon) isn’t working, and you want to be part of building something better.
Some house keeping:
- Seattle based but open to remote work (US only).
- Must be based in the US and eligible to work in the US without future visa sponsorship.
- This is a full-time contractor role that could turn into a full-time hire. This is to ensure mutual fit and alignment.
- High ownership, high impact. You’ll work directly with the CEO/Founder and help shape the future of Theodora and the wine industry
- A chance to build something from nothing and see your work matter in real time
- A fun product to test and grow, one that brings confidence and is often synonymous with bringing people together
- A brand rooted in connection, intention, and everyday celebrations, not elitism
- An engaged early user base that genuinely loves what we’re building
- A massive opportunity to redefine how most people shop for wine
- We’re early, but the signal is there and we’re building deliberately
Salary: $120,000-$200,000 depending on candidate location and experience level