Starting at €199 per diagnosis sounds cheap. Is there enough margin?

That is our planning assumption. We do not publish margin figures on this page, because there are no paying customers yet and the cost per diagnosis has not been measured over a full diagnosis round. The first diagnoses are meant to show real costs. Two revenue streams: one-time diagnoses (€199 to €499 Founder-Edition prices, provisional) and optional Tracking subscriptions (€39/month). Cost structure and sensitivity analysis are part of the due-diligence data room (on request, under NDA). All figures are forecasts and not guaranteed.

What if a large company copies this?

Large companies often sell ongoing services. STEP/SEEDS® aims to make clients independent, which may be a structural difference in incentives. Additionally: 4-layer legal protection, a head start of roughly 6 months in methodology + code, 9 layers of verification and a clear brand positioning create barriers. We cannot exclude that well-funded players copy parts of it.

What are the biggest risks?

1) Customer acquisition cost may be higher than projected. 2) SME willingness to pay for diagnostics is unvalidated at scale. 3) Single founder risk. Mitigations: lean validation with pilot clients, modular architecture allowing the team to grow.

What's the exit strategy?

Primary: strategic acquisition by a MarTech platform seeking SME diagnostic capabilities. Secondary: PE-backed roll-up in the marketing SaaS space. Tertiary: profitable growth as a standalone business. No exit is promised.

Is BAFA funding applicable?

Currently not available and not committed; whether funding becomes possible depends on the registration of a BAFA consultant and programme availability (the programme ends on 31 December 2026). The funding rate differs by region. Whether and when funding is possible for STEP/SEEDS® has not been determined, so we do not include funding in the plan figures. Separately, the INVEST grant for venture capital (see above) is an investor programme and not the BAFA consulting funding for customers.

How is the IP actually protected and what stops a copycat?

Four layers of protection. (1) Trademark: STEP/SEEDS® is registered with the DPMA under § 14 MarkenG. (2) Copyright: 115,000+ lines of prompts, scoring logic and report templates are protected under § 2 UrhG. (3) Trade secret: the methodology architecture, the prompt engineering and the scoring weights qualify as Geschäftsgeheimnis under § 2 GeschGehG, with documented Geheimhaltungsmaßnahmen including Open-Layer and Protected-Layer separation (clients receive output, never prompts) and data processing agreements with AI providers. (4) Contractual: AGB restricted to entrepreneurs (§ 14 BGB) with explicit no-reverse-engineering clauses and per-client NDAs. A copycat would need to rebuild substantial work and avoid each of these four legal vectors.

Is the legal foundation documented and ready for due diligence?

It is documented and prepared for due diligence, but not reviewed by a lawyer: AGB, Datenschutzerklärung, DPIA (Datenschutz-Folgenabschätzung), Verarbeitungsverzeichnis, Drittlandtransfer-Dokumentation, DPA-Übersicht, Pre-Engagement Checklist, Incident Response Playbook, internal UWG-Reglement (considering the UWG-Novelle in force since 27.09.2026) and a 33-vector Attack Vectors map. The labelling under Art. 50 EU AI Act (transparency obligations applicable since 2 August 2026) is built into every report, into the website footer and into blog posts. Services are provided exclusively to entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB, which reduces the consumer-protection exposure (§§ 312g, 355 BGB, § 356a). The legal foundation is treated as part of the product.

® DPMA Registered115K+ Lines of Expert System4-Layer IP Protection

Marketing diagnostics for SMEs.Pay once. Stay independent.

Q: How do you validate the methodology?

Phase 1: automated report creation (being set up on our server), editorial review of every pilot report by the founder, and a small group of pilot clients. Sales open only after the pilot phase, with the start announced via the waitlist. Each report is discussed with the pilot client: what is valuable, what is redundant, what needs changing. Real feedback drives prompt refinement.

STEP/SEEDS® delivers a complete marketing blueprint from €199 (provisional): up to 112 prioritized actions (L tier), independent of any service provider. The diagnosis is a one-time purchase without a subscription; optional tracking costs €39 per month. Sales open only after the pilot phase.

“STEP/SEEDS® gives you a complete strategic Blueprint: up to 112 prioritized actions (L tier): six marketing channels plus Operations, actionable and measurable.
Built on a proprietary Framework, Scoring Algorithm and Diagnostic Engine. From €199 per diagnosis (provisional), because our Methodology structures the work, not the hours.”
Stanislav Tonkich, Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Methodology

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The Problem No One Has Solved

External

Many small and mid-sized German businesses spend on marketing without clarity on what works.

Internal

Business owners can't evaluate agencies, can't hold them accountable, can't make informed decisions.

Philosophical

Small businesses deserve the same diagnostic quality as Fortune 500 companies.

Where these problems show up

These are the seven source types we evaluate to identify problems.

REV

Reviews

Google, Trustpilot, ProvenExpert: ratings of 1 to 3 stars naming the problem in the customer's own words.

FOR

Forums

Reddit (r/smallbusiness), Quora, gutefrage.net: threads opening with 'How do you handle…?'

GRP

Communities

Closed Facebook SME groups, LinkedIn communities: frustration threads, calls for help.

SAL

Discovery Calls

Verbatim quotes from first conversations with prospective clients, collected from the start of the pilot phase.

MAI

Inbound Email

Support and consultancy requests with help-seeking tonality, not buying intent.

AGE

Agency Briefings

RFP and pitch documents in which the problem is explicitly stated as the trigger.

SEA

Search Intent

Search Console queries and 'People Also Ask' clusters using problem-language verbatim.

Methodology documented in our internal Pain-Signal Matrix. Source types such as first conversations and inbound email are populated once the pilot phase starts.

Why now

Three trends, one working assumption.

The German SME diagnostic-marketing gap has been visible for years. What changed in recent years is the cost of solving it, and the regulatory pressure to do so.

AI economics

AI has lowered the cost of diagnostic depth.

The cost per analysis with AI models has fallen noticeably in recent years. A full STEP/SEEDS® diagnosis (16 steps, 112 SEEDS) can now be offered at a price point that hour-based consulting models usually do not reach: they sell hours, we sell a structured diagnosis.

Our own observation of public AI-model API pricing, 2023 vs 2026; no third-party study.

Agency fatigue

Some SME owners want clarity before committing to a retainer.

In our observation, SME owners increasingly want diagnostic clarity before commitment, not month-to-month dependency. This is a working hypothesis that the pilot phase is meant to test.

Own working hypothesis, not backed by a named study.

Regulatory pressure

EU AI Act + DSGVO turn vendor selection into legal exposure.

Article 50 (EU AI Act, transparency obligations applicable since 2 August 2026) requires providers and deployers of certain AI systems to disclose AI-generated content. Providers without a documented compliance approach face legal risk. From the start, our reports visibly point out the use of AI. Scope and details of Art. 50 are subject to legal review.

EU AI Act Art. 50; DSGVO Art. 13/14; UWG-Novelle 2026.

Working hypotheses on where capital may move

hypothesisVertical AI for SME toolingWorking hypothesis: vertical AI may attract more funding than horizontal AI. Not independently verified, no named source.

hypothesisDiagnostic / scoped engagementsWorking hypothesis: scoped engagements gain relevance against retainer-based models. Not verified.

hypothesisCompliance-native EU playsWorking hypothesis: EU-native solutions that document their compliance approach may have an advantage. Not verified.

Our working assumption: regulation raises the need for documentation, AI economics make depth affordable, and buyers ask for clarity before commitment. We position STEP/SEEDS® where these three trends meet. This is an assessment, not a forecast.

Market Opportunity

The market, grounded in sources: our target, grounded in unit economics.

The Market

Top-down view: for context, not as a promise.

Market sizeNot stated

We do not quote third-party market-size figures here, because we could not verify them against the original reports. Market sizing is part of the due-diligence data room.

Own position, no third-party figure

Addressable SMEs (Germany)~350,000

Working assumption for the number of small and mid-sized businesses that actively run marketing. Not backed by a named statistic.

Own working assumption

Our Target

Bottom-up: two numbers, both important.

Addressable SMEs (DE), working assumption~350,000

New customers Year 3 (plan assumption)5,000

Avg diagnosis price Year 3 (regular prices)~EUR 579

Diagnosis revenue Year 3~EUR 2.90M

Forecast, not guaranteed. New customers of Year 3 at regular prices after the Founder Edition.

Total revenue Year 3~EUR 4.77M

Forecast, not guaranteed. Includes Tracking subscriptions (~EUR 1.87M). Y5: ~EUR 11.5M. A purely arithmetic illustration at an 8× multiple gives ~EUR 92M: no valuation statement.

All figures are forecasts based on planning assumptions, not achieved results, and are not guaranteed. The pilot phase is meant to test the assumptions.

Expansion Path

Wave 1 (2026 to 2027)

Germany

Methodology to be validated with German SMEs in the pilot phase. Bootstrap + Pre-Seed. SaaS start planned for 2027.

Wave 2 (2027 to 2028)

DACH + EU

Austria, Switzerland, then localized EU markets. Planned growth of the SaaS platform.

Wave 3 (2028+)

Global playbook

Methodology is language-independent at the core. Localization = translation layer on top.

What STEP/SEEDS® Does

Complete Diagnostic

Up to 7 areas in tier L (six marketing channels plus Operations), 16 analysis steps, one clear Blueprint

Up to 112 Prioritized Actions

Each with effort, Estimated Budget, and 3 execution variants

Up to 7 Areas of Analysis (Tier L)

Six marketing channels (SEO incl. AI search visibility, Social Media, Paid Ads, Email, CRM, Conversion) plus Operations in tier L; tiers S and M include six channel reports

Client Independence

The client receives a Blueprint that can be implemented independently of any service provider. No lock-in, no follow-on dependency.

“In Europe, 112 is the universal emergency number: everyone knows it, everyone trusts it.
STEP/SEEDS® aims to become that same first address for entrepreneurs in a marketing emergency: 112 actions, one system, one solution.”
Stanislav Tonkich, Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Methodology

The STEP/SEEDS® Methodology

A systematic framework, not a one-off audit

STEP

One step per stair

SEEDS

Up to 112 actions, sown stair by stair

Result

A growing business

“Like an MRI for your business: a structured look at the whole marketing system.”
Stanislav Tonkich, Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Methodology

16 STEPs

Structured diagnostic phases: from market analysis to execution roadmap

Up to 112 SEEDS

Concrete, prioritized actions: each with goal, impact, steps, and Estimated Budget

3 Phases

Analysis, Strategy and Practice: closing with a 6-day quick-start plan and a 6-month roadmap

Up to 7 Areas (Tier L)

Six marketing channels (SEO incl. AI search visibility, Social Media, Paid Ads, Email, CRM, Conversion) plus Operations; tiers S and M: six channel reports

9 Verification Protocols

We use 9 layers of quality assurance: structure, function, pipeline, content accuracy, German language quality, output, strategic quality, meta-templates, and legal compliance

Multi-Product Platform

STEP/SEEDS® is a Dachmarke covering 4 sub-brands (Framework, Diagnostics, Tracking, Automation) plus the Bot-Agent alias, following the umbrella-brand pattern of large software groups

AI-Powered

Proprietary diagnostic engine: 115,000+ lines of expert system, over 250 prompt templates, roughly 6 months of development

The Team

Stanislav Tonkich

Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Methodology · Web Developer · AI Automator

20+ years of IT experience
12+ years SEO & digital marketing across all channels
Over 10 years of entrepreneurial practice (food retail, travel, digital platforms)
8+ years of web development and automation: full-stack & AI integration
Systems architect: methodologies, SaaS products, AI automations
Combination: marketing depth × dev skills × systems thinking

“Food retail, travel agency, digital city platform: as a founder of multiple small businesses, I paid agencies and got reports. But understood what was actually done and why? Never.
That’s exactly why I built STEP/SEEDS®: the diagnosis I always needed but never had.”

Daniil Tonkich

Co-Founder, STEP/SEEDS® Framework · AI & Data Analytics

Computer science student at the University of Passau
Focus on AI, machine learning and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
Built a multilingual learning assistant grounded in existing knowledge sources
Responsible for LLM orchestration, data pipeline and infrastructure of the diagnostic engine
Data analytics and business intelligence
Investor relations & funding program negotiations
Next-gen perspective on AI-driven SaaS products

“AI doesn’t replace strategy, it makes strategy measurable. STEP/SEEDS® turns marketing intuition into data-driven decisions.”

Strategic Partner

Co-Founder / Strategic Investor

Knows the pain point in the SME market from own experience
Understands SaaS scaling and unit economics
Brings GTM expertise or industry network
Values long-term category building over quick exits
Complements product/tech with business development

“The right partner doesn't just invest capital, they invest conviction.”

The Numbers That Matter

~€20K*

Forecast revenue Year 1 (not guaranteed)

~€409K*

Forecast revenue Year 2 (not guaranteed)

~€4.77M*

Forecast revenue Year 3 (not guaranteed)

~€11.5M*

Forecast revenue Year 5 (not guaranteed)

	Year 1 (Founder)	Year 2 (Mix 30/70)	Year 3 (Regular prices)
Customers (new)	50	500	5,000
Avg Diagnosis Price	€289 (Founder)	€502 (Mix)	€579 (Regular)
Diagnosis Revenue	€15K	€251K	€2.90M
Tracking ARR	€5K	€158K	€1.87M
Total Revenue (forecast)	~€20K	~€409K	~€4.77M

Transparency: How to read these figures

→Forecast, not guaranteed: All figures are forecasts from planning assumptions. There are no paying customers yet. The pilot phase is meant to test the assumptions before sales open.
→Prices: Founder-Edition prices (S 199 € / M 349 € / L 499 €) apply to the first 50 accepted orders in total, across all tiers, after the start of sales; after that, the prices published at that time apply, which are included in the Year 3 figures. Sales are not open yet. Prices are provisional, without VAT shown pursuant to Sec. 19 UStG (small business regulation).
→Margins: We do not publish margin figures on this page. Cost structure and sensitivity analysis are part of the due-diligence data room (on request, under NDA).
→Tracking credit loop: Note: after at least 6 consecutive paid months of Tracking (€39 × 6 = €234), the customer receives a one-time €100 credit (net) as a discount on the next paid diagnosis (valid 12 months, no cash payout, see Terms § 3 (3a) to (3d)).

* Forecast and illustrative scenarios based on planning assumptions, not achieved results. Not a guarantee of future performance and no valuation statement.

The Path to Scale

Pilot phase

Planned start of the pilot phase with selected pilot customers. Goal: 10+ pilot diagnoses for validation. Paid sales open only after the pilot phase, with the start announced via the waitlist.

Pre-Seed after validation

€90-500K, planned use: acquire first paying clients. Test unit economics, build documented case studies with consent, refine methodology.

Traction (Month 6 to 12)

Plan: 500 customers, SaaS platform in operation, ~€409K revenue (forecast, not guaranteed). Seed round only if the plan assumptions hold.

Scale (Year 2 to 3)

Plan: Seed round, DACH→EU expansion, 5,000 new customers in Year 3, ~€4.77M revenue in Year 3 and ~€11.5M in Year 5 (forecasts, not guaranteed).

The VC Fund Lever (idea, not yet tested): One fund deal could mean 15 to 20 portfolio companies diagnosed at once, at batch pricing.

Why Rebuilding Takes Effort

Architecture, Not AI

The IP is the 16-step diagnostic pipeline with quality gates, not the AI model. AI is commodity. Architecture is proprietary.

Decision Constraints

Forces prioritization: 3 priorities + 3 deliberate exclusions per channel, not a long list of equally weighted tips.

Category Definition

Productized-methodology-service: structurally neither SaaS nor agency. We position ourselves between agency retainers and self-service tools, with a one-time diagnosis as the core offer.

Vendor-Agnostic + Multilingual + Self-Hosted

LLM-independent pipeline (no vendor lock-in) · Language as parameter, not translation (planned multilingual expansion) · Self-hosted CRM + workflow automation on our own server in Germany.

4-Layer Legal Protection

Trademark (®) + Copyright (§2 UrhG) + Trade Secrets (§2 GeschGehG) + Contracts.

Data Moat

Benchmark data from customers could improve the SEEDS over time (planned, only with consent and anonymization).

5 Proprietary Lead-Magnet Tools

Five tools on step-seeds.de subdomains: AI-Readiness Check, Lead-Capture Funnel Audit, BAFA-Förder-Check, Agentur-Check, Priorisierungs-Check. Each: branded PDF report via email-gate, automatic lead capture, optional nurture sequence. Free entry funnels + showcase of methodology depth.

End-to-End EU Funnel Infrastructure

EU-based email marketing service plus self-hosted CRM and self-hosted workflow automation on our own server in Germany. Infrastructure is operational; the order and delivery process is being set up.

Operational Resilience

Branded maintenance mode across all production vhosts during deploys, 12 automated monitoring scripts (disk, memory, email bounce-rate auto-pause, SSL expiry, backup-verify, dead-link-checker) plus external uptime monitoring. 12 SEO-optimized industry landing pages with shared-component architecture.

Legal foundation documented

The compliance layers are documented and prepared for due diligence. This is an internal assessment, not a legal opinion.

Exclusively for entrepreneurs (§ 14 BGB)

Services are provided only to entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB. The consumer-protection exposure (§§ 312g, 355 BGB, § 356a) is reduced by the offer being limited to entrepreneurs. Mandatory confirmation checkbox plus manual plausibility check on every order.

EU AI Act Art. 50 implemented

Transparency obligations under Art. 50 EU AI Act, applicable since 2 August 2026. We flag AI use visibly in every report, in the website footer and in blog posts; machine-readable marking under Art. 50(2) is in preparation (transition period until 2 December 2026 for systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026). A specification for a future information chatbot is documented. Scope and details are subject to legal review.

Processors and third-country transfers: documented

Processing by service providers (AI providers, research APIs, payment processor, hosting, database, transactional email) is documented in an overview of data processing agreements and in the Datenschutzerklärung. The current contract status and the third-country transfer documentation are provided in the data room. Only business data is processed, not personal data of end customers.

GeschGehG trade-secret stack

The DPAs are not only GDPR compliance. They are also part of the reasonable confidentiality measures required by § 2 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 GeschGehG. Open-Layer and Protected-Layer separation ensures that clients receive the output but never the prompts or the scoring logic.

UWG amendment (in force since 27.09.2026): considered

An internal marketing reglement rules out dark patterns, fake urgency, drip pricing and confirmshaming. The K11 and K11-EXT correction protocol checks client-facing content for legally careful language.

Incident Response within 72 hours

DSGVO Art. 33 and 34 documented playbook with a four-phase procedure: containment, assessment, notification and post-mortem. Notification template and emergency contact list are documented.

Full legal stack available for Due Diligence

•AGB (General Terms)
•Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy Policy)
•DPIA (Data Protection Impact Assessment)
•Verarbeitungsverzeichnis (Processing Records, Art. 30 GDPR)
•DPA-Übersicht (Data Processing Agreements)
•Drittlandtransfer-Dokumentation
•Pre-Engagement Checklist
•Incident Response Playbook
•UWG-Reglement 2026
•Attack Vectors Map (33 Vektoren, P0 bis P3)
•AV-Vertrag Template
•Dienstvertrag Template (§ 611 BGB)

Stand: Oktober 2026. Diese Darstellung ist keine Rechtsberatung. Eigene Dokumentation auf Basis öffentlich zugänglicher Quellen, nicht anwaltlich geprüft. Dokumente werden auf Investoren-Anfrage (mit NDA) bereitgestellt.

The Investment Opportunity

€90,000 to €500,000

Pre-Seed · Pre-Traction · 2026

Use of Funds

Marketing & Acquisition30%

Customer acquisition, content, LinkedIn

SaaS Development25%

Platform build, automation

Founder Salary30%

18 months runway (plan)

Legal8%

EU trademark, contracts

Operations7%

Working capital

Milestones After Investment

Goal: 500 paying customers
Goal: build up Tracking subscriptions
Plan: ~€409K revenue in Year 2 (forecast, not guaranteed)
Goal: first documented customer testimonials with consent
Goal: SaaS platform in operation
Seed round only if the plan assumptions hold

Funding eligibility

Eligibility under BAFA INVEST

The German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) has certified DigMa Systems UG (haftungsbeschränkt) as eligible under the INVEST programme, grant for venture capital (status as of October 2026). Under the programme rules, eligibility is established for 12 months at a time; validity and conditions follow solely from the BAFA decision. Private investors (natural persons) can apply to BAFA for an acquisition grant on their investment, subject to the conditions of the funding guideline. Whether and in what amount it is granted is decided by BAFA case by case on the investor's application; the company's eligibility is not a promise of a grant. The decision relates only to the company's eligibility for this grant, not to the quality of individual products or services and not to the prospects of the investment. This is an investor programme and not the BAFA consulting funding for customers.

Source: BAFA, INVEST Zuschuss für Wagniskapital

What Happens Without This

Many SMEs continue to spend on marketing without clarity on what works.

Without diagnostic infrastructure, SMEs continue making decisions without data, and overpaying for undifferentiated services.

Someone else may build diagnostic-first marketing infrastructure for SMEs.

Or you invest now, and own a piece of the infrastructure.

Investor FAQ

ChatGPT is a language model. STEP/SEEDS® is a 16-step diagnostic architecture with 9 verification protocols (structure, function, pipeline, content accuracy, German language quality, output quality, strategic quality, meta & templates, legal compliance), decision constraints and over 250 proprietary prompt templates spanning 115,000+ lines of expert system, built over roughly 6 months of founder work. Rebuilding the architecture would take substantial effort. The AI model is a commodity. The structured pipeline is the intellectual property. Contracts with AI providers are part of our confidentiality measures under § 2 GeschGehG, not only of GDPR Art. 28. The labelling required by Art. 50 EU AI Act (transparency obligations applicable since 2 August 2026) is built into every report.

Ready to See the Full Picture?

“Understanding is protection.”

Stanislav Tonkich, Founder STEP/SEEDS®