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

MarketingdiagnosticsforSMEs.Payonce.Stayindependent.

STEP/SEEDS® delivers a complete marketing blueprint from €199 – up to 112 prioritized actions, independent of any service provider.

“Traditional strategy consultancies deliver an analysis report for €5,000–15,000.
STEP/SEEDS® gives you a complete strategic Blueprint – up to 112 prioritized actions, 7 areas, actionable and measurable.
Powered by proprietary Framework, Scoring Algorithm and Diagnostic Engine. From €199 per diagnosis – because our Methodology does the work, not the hours.”

– Stanislav Tonkich, Founder STEP/SEEDS® Framework

The Problem No One Has Solved

External

3.5M German SMEs spend €10-30K/year on marketing – blindly. No 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.

0%

of SMEs have no marketing strategy

(IHK 2024)

Where these problems show up

Not hypothetical. The pain is empirically traceable across seven independent source types.

REV

Reviews

Google, Trustpilot, ProvenExpert – 1–3-star ratings 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 our own first-touch conversations with prospective clients.

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. Each diagnosis report cross-references at least three independent source types per problem.

Why now

Three forces. One window. 18 months.

The German SME diagnostic-marketing gap has been visible for a decade. What changed in 2024–2026 is the cost of solving it – and the regulatory pressure to do so.

AI economics

Diagnostic depth at €199 was unthinkable in 2022.

Frontier-model cost per analysis dropped 40-fold in 24 months. A full STEP/SEEDS® diagnosis (16 steps, 112 SEEDS) now sits at a margin profile that consultancies cannot match – they sell hours, we sell verdicts.

Public frontier-model API pricing, 2023 vs 2026.

Agency fatigue

SME owners stopped trusting retainer-based marketing.

Survey data shows a structural shift: SME owners want diagnostic clarity before commitment, not month-to-month dependency. The retainer model is losing share to outcome-clear, scoped engagements.

Bitkom 2025 SME Marketing Sentiment; iBusiness Agency Pricing Index 2024–2026.

Regulatory pressure

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

Article 50 (effective 02.08.2026) forces every German business to know which content is AI-generated and how. Diagnostic providers without a documented compliance posture become legally toxic. We are built around the requirement, not retrofitted to it.

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

Where capital is moving

+217%Vertical AI for SME toolingCrunchbase 2025: vertical AI funding outpacing horizontal AI 2.1×.
growingDiagnostic / scoped engagementsGeneric agency-tech (retainer-CRMs, retainer-dashboards) declining in deal flow.
premiumCompliance-native EU playsEU-headquartered, GDPR/AI-Act native solutions priced at premium multiples vs US-cloned plays.

The window is the next 18 months: regulation forces a buying decision, AI economics make depth affordable, and incumbent retainer-models bleed share. We are positioned exactly where the three vectors intersect.

Market Opportunity

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

The Market

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

Global TAMUSD 35 Bn

Global marketing consulting market (2025). AI-augmented segment grows at 11.5% CAGR.

Mordor Intelligence, 2026 · MarketsAndMarkets

Germany SAMEUR 525–750 Mn

Marketing advisory for 350K actively marketing SMEs – derived from BDU total consulting market and IfM Bonn SME data.

BDU 2024 · IfM Bonn 2023 · Destatis

Our Target

Bottom-up – two numbers, both important.

Addressable SMEs (DE)~350,000
Penetration Year 30.5%
Blended ARPU (diagnostics + tracking)~EUR 417/year
New Business Year 3EUR 600–735K

Revenue from new customers acquired in Year 3 only (sanity check: is this realistic?).

Total Revenue Year 3~EUR 2.4M

Includes new + returning customers + recurring Tracking subscriptions from Year 1 & 2 cohorts.

Both numbers belong together: the first proves market capture is realistic, the second shows recurring-revenue leverage.

Expansion Path

Wave 1 (2026–2027)

Germany

Methodology validated on German SMEs. Bootstrap + Pre-Seed. SaaS launches Q1 2027.

Wave 2 (2027–2028)

DACH + EU

Austria, Switzerland, then localized EU markets. SaaS platform scaling.

Wave 3 (2028+)

Global playbook

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

What STEP/SEEDS® Does

Complete Diagnostic

7 channels, 16 analysis steps, one clear Blueprint

Up to 112 Prioritized Actions

Each with effort, budget, and 3 execution variants

7 Areas of Analysis

SEO, Social Media, Paid Ads, Email, CRM, Operations, Positioning

Client Independence

The client receives an execution-ready Blueprint – independent of any service provider. No lock-in, no follow-on dependency.

“Not a better way to do marketing.
A better way to decide about marketing.”

– Stanislav Tonkich, Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Framework

The STEP/SEEDS® Methodology

A systematic framework, not a one-off audit

STEP/SEEDS®

“Like an MRI for your business – we find what others miss.”

– Stanislav Tonkich, Founder & CEO, STEP/SEEDS® Engine

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

7 Areas

SEO, Social Media, Paid Ads, Email, CRM, Operations, Positioning – nothing left uncovered

9 Verification Protocols

Every report passes 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 live sub-brands (Framework, Diagnostics, Tracking, Automation) plus the Bot-Agent alias – Google/Microsoft pattern, designed for category leadership

AI-Powered

Proprietary diagnostic engine – 115,000+ lines of expert system, over 250 prompt templates, 12 months of development (1,500+ hours)

The Team

Stanislav TonkichStanislav Tonkich

Stanislav Tonkich

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

  • 12+ years SEO & digital marketing across all channels
  • 10+ years entrepreneurship – was himself a struggling SME owner
  • 9+ years web development – 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

Daniil Tonkich

Co-Founder & CTO, STEP/SEEDS® Framework

  • B.Sc. Computer Science, University of Passau
  • AI & machine learning research focus
  • 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

  • Sees the pain point in the SME market firsthand
  • 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

70→82%

Gross Margin (Phase 1→2)

5-8×

Blended LTV/CAC

~10-15

Customers/Mo to Break-Even

~€2.4M

Projected Revenue (Year 3)

Year 1 (Phase 1)Year 2 (Transition)Year 3 (Phase 2)
Customers (new)5002,0005,000
Diagnosis Revenue€145K€578K€1.4M
Tracking Subscribers2508002,000
Tracking Revenue (ARR)€117K€374K€936K
Total Revenue€262K€952K~€2.4M
Gross Margin (Layer 1)~70%~75%~82%
Gross Profit€183K€714K€1.95M

Transparency: How we calculate these margins

  • →Layer 1 shown above: Gross Margin based on API + infrastructure COGS only. Standard SaaS reporting metric (consistent with public 10-K filings of listed SaaS peers).
  • →Layer 3 (Full Economic): Including founder opportunity cost in Phase 1: ~50%. Deliberate investment in methodology validation – not a cash cow.
  • →Industry benchmark: Public benchmarks for AI-hybrid SaaS: Seed-stage 40–62%, mature SaaS 80–82%. STEP/SEEDS® sits in the upper range of AI-hybrid services.
  • →Deep-dive document: Full COGS breakdown, Pessimistic Scenarios and Sensitivity Analysis available in our internal Due Diligence Data Room (provided on request).

Illustrative scenarios based on verified API pricing (April 2026) and industry benchmarks. Not a guarantee of future performance.

The Path to Scale

Launch (July 2026)

Public launch. First paying customers. Methodology validated through 10+ pilot diagnostics. Website and ordering live.

Pre-Seed (Q3-Q4 2026)

€90-500K → Scale to 50+ clients. Prove unit economics, build case studies, refine methodology.

Traction (Month 6-12)

500 customers. 250 Tracking subscribers. SaaS platform live. €262K revenue. Ready for Seed round.

Scale (Year 2-3)

Seed round. DACH→EU expansion. 5,000+ customers. 2,000 Tracking subscribers. €78K MRR. ~€2.4M revenue.

The VC Fund Lever: One fund deal means 15–20 portfolio companies diagnosed at once – at batch pricing well below the cost of a single junior marketing hire.

Why This Can't Be Copied

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 '100 equally valid tips.'

Category Definition

First mover in 'Diagnostic-first Marketing Infrastructure.' We define the category before competition forms.

4-Layer Legal Protection

Trademark (®) + Copyright (§2 UrhG) + Trade Secrets (§2 GeschGehG) + Contracts. Replacement: €150K+ / 2,500+ hours.

Data Moat

Every customer = benchmark data. More data → better SEEDS → better results → more referrals. Compounds over time.

5 Proprietary Lead-Magnet Tools

Five production 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 — all live before investment. 100% GDPR-compliant within EU. Reduces typical post-Seed infrastructure timeline by 3-6 months.

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.

The Investment Opportunity

€90,000 – €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

Legal8%

EU trademark, contracts

Operations7%

Working capital

Milestones After Investment

  • 500 paying customers
  • 250 Tracking subscribers
  • €262K revenue (incl. MRR)
  • 10+ verified testimonials
  • SaaS platform live
  • Ready for Seed round

What Happens Without This

3.5M SMEs continue burning €10-30K/year on blind marketing – no disruption in sight.

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

The first mover in diagnostic-first marketing infrastructure for SMEs will not be you.

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 12 months and 1,500+ hours of founder work (~€32K founder investment at minimum-wage replacement rate, ~€150K+ at market rate). Rebuilding the architecture would take 2,500+ hours. The AI model is a commodity. The structured pipeline is the intellectual property. Legally, our Data Processing Agreements with all AI providers form part of the trade-secret protection under § 2 GeschGehG, not only GDPR Art. 28. Our compliance with Art. 50 EU AI Act (transparency obligations from 02.08.2026) is built into every report from day one.

ReadytoSeetheFullPicture?

STEP/SEEDS®

“Understanding is protection.”

– Stanislav Tonkich, Founder STEP/SEEDS®