A new expectation
From now on, investors and funding bodies expect measurable traction. Pipeline beats gut feeling, and “we post regularly” is not a metric.
Playbook 2026 · For startups after funding or investment
Digital Marketing Playbook for newly funded tech startups
- Marketing strategy
- Brand building
- AI-visible website
- Lead channels
The capital is there, and so are the expectations. This playbook takes you from funding to a predictable marketing system in 90 days: with a clear strategy, a website that ChatGPT and Perplexity can find, and channels that deliver measurable leads.
- 45 pages
- Free PDF
- German language
- Straight to your inbox
45 pages · PDFFree
Playbook · 2026
Digital Marketing-Playbookfür frisch finanzierte Tech-Startups
lilox.io90-day plan
45pages
6chapters
7costly mistakes
90day plan
28point checklist
/ 01 · Why this playbook exists
Funded is the starting line. What counts now is what you build from it.
Funding or investment changes the rules overnight. “Somehow getting visible” turns into “demonstrably growing”. Suddenly investors, advisory board and funding bodies are at the table asking about traction. And you are supposed to build marketing while product, team and runway all demand attention at the same time.
This is exactly where most startups lose months: they start with tactics instead of a foundation, run ads on an unclear positioning, and only realize at the next board meeting that nobody can say which channel brought which customer. We wrote down what we explain again and again at this stage.
Your scarcest resource
Time is scarcer than money. Every marketing detour costs you months of runway. And no budget increase buys those back.
The right order
Foundation before budget. Strategy and positioning make every euro you invest work harder. Reverse the order and you buy expensive traffic for a system that does not convert it.
/ 02 · Your outcome
What you hold in your hands after 20 minutes of reading
Not a theory paper. Six concrete outcomes you can put into your board update or your next team meeting the same day.
Clarity on what comes next
After reading it you know which step matters now and which one can wait another three months. No more five building sites at once.
The map for digital marketing
Strategy, brand, website, LinkedIn, email, ads and measurement: finally in one picture, in the order that actually works.
The 7 most expensive mistakes and their countermeasures
A concrete countermeasure for every mistake. Each one otherwise costs you months of runway and five-figure sums.
Getting visible where people search in 2026
Eight building blocks for a website that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI cite, including a 5-minute self-test on whether you show up today.
A 90-day plan you can work through
Three phases, 18 tasks, clear goals per month. From a blank page to the first predictable leads, without having to invent a strategy first.
Arguments for the next board meeting
The 28-point checklist shows in black and white where you stand. You report a plan with KPIs instead of random numbers.
45 pages that save you several months of detours.
Free, straight to your inbox, no sales call. All we need is a name and an email.
/ 03 · The difference
Let the budget drain away or build a growth engine
Both paths cost roughly the same amount of money. Only one of them leaves you with a system that belongs to you.
Path A
How marketing budget drains away
Path B · in the playbook
How a growth engine is built
✕Running ads before positioning and audience are clear
✓Strategy and positioning first, then budget
✕A website as a digital business card instead of a lead engine
✓A website as a conversion asset, visible in Google and AI search
✕Being “a little bit” present on five channels at once
✓Dominating one or two channels consistently
✕Marketing done “on the side” by a founder
✓Clear ownership: in-house, agency or fractional CMO
✕No measurement: nobody knows which channel delivers
✓KPIs from day 1: pipeline, CAC, conversion per channel
/ 04 · Sample chapter
The 7 most expensive marketing mistakes after funding
Knowing them is how you avoid them. Three of them are right here. The other four are in the playbook, each with a countermeasure.
MISTAKE 01
Scaling too early
Paid ads on an unclear positioning are expensive noise. Budget multiplies the effect of your message. If the message does not land, it only multiplies the cost.
MISTAKE 03
Product thinking instead of customer thinking
Tech founders communicate features: “AI-powered platform with API-first architecture”. Customers buy outcomes: “saves your team 10 hours a week”.
MISTAKE 07
Learning SEO while the world already asks AI
Startups painstakingly optimize for classic Google rankings while their audience has long been asking ChatGPT which tool solves their problem. If you do not appear there, you do not exist for a growing part of the market.
All 7 mistakes and their countermeasures are in the playbook.
/ 05 · What is inside
Six chapters, one implementation plan, one checklist
Built in the order in which marketing actually works: foundation first, then visibility, then scale. Around 20 minutes of reading.
- 017 mistakes
The 7 most expensive marketing mistakes after funding
Knowing them is how you avoid them. With one concrete countermeasure per mistake.
- 025 questions
Marketing strategy: the foundation before the budget
ICP, positioning, investor-grade KPIs, the 40/40/20 budget rule and channel focus.
- 033 building blocks
Brand building: from product to a brand people trust
Brand core, visual and verbal identity, plus founder brand as the fastest lever for trust.
- 048 building blocks
A website that Google and AI assistants find
Answer-first, dual headlines, FAQs in question language, JSON-LD, llms.txt and the 5-minute self-test.
- 055 phases
Digital channels for lead generation
Lead magnet, LinkedIn, email nurturing and paid ads, in five phases and in the right order.
- 0618 tasks
The 90-day plan from funding to a marketing system
Days 1–30 foundation, 31–60 visibility, 61–90 pipeline. With a goal and task list per phase.
- ✓28 points
The big scale-ready checklist + mini glossary
28 points to tick off across strategy, brand, website, lead generation and measurement. Plus the 7 most important terms in 10 seconds.
You can work all of this out yourself. Or read it in 20 minutes.
Two founders from marketing and technology wrote down what they otherwise explain in every first conversation.
/ 06 · Is this for you?
Who this playbook was written for
Honestly: not for everyone. So you can skip the download if it will not help you.
Good fit
The playbook is for you if …
- you have just closed a funding round or public grant
- you sell a B2B or tech product that needs explaining
- marketing currently runs on the side alongside founding
- you are deciding between a first marketing hire, an agency or a fractional CMO
- you want to show a plan instead of isolated activities at the next board meeting
- you want to know whether ChatGPT already recommends your company
Not a fit
Skip the download if …
- you have an established marketing team with a documented strategy
- you run transactional B2C volume business
- you are looking for a finished agency quote rather than a toolkit
- you are looking for growth hacks rather than a foundation
/ 07 · Who wrote this
Two founders from marketing and technology
LILOX builds the marketing that brings inquiries from dream customers for technical B2B companies in the DACH region. This playbook is the written version of what we otherwise explain in a first conversation.
Nadine Fraiss · Marketing
15 years in digital marketing, several of them at CMO level.
Between traditional Mittelstand, startups and scale-ups. She has sat on both sides: as the client who had to justify agency budgets, and as the person expected to deliver pipeline at the end of the quarter.
Christoph Fraiss · Technology
Engineer, structural engineer on major construction sites, managing director of a manufacturing company.
He knows the moment when an offer fails on price. And the moment when it fails on a missing explanation. For you, he translates between technology and market.
/ 08 · Customer voices
What clients say about working with LILOX
Approved quotes from ongoing and completed engagements. More will follow as each approval comes in.
5 out of 5
My previous agency never came close to engaging with my business in the same depth as Nadine and her team.
Mulundo SichoneFounder, Pydro5 out of 5
Advice between equals, no fluff, always focused.
Prof. (FH) Dr. Uwe HeilEntrepreneur, Dr. Heil KG Consulting & Coaching for Executives5 out of 5
Nadine and her team were a stroke of luck for us. They helped us position our brand and product portfolio without forcing us to completely rethink our original vision or resources — they polished our rough diamond, so to speak. Thanks to a lead-generation strategy that actually fit our budget, we've been able to market our business model to exactly the right audience. A clear recommendation for SMEs like us.
Sabrina WinischhoferCo-Founder, Vienna Etiquette Society5 out of 5
For my company, AnimatedReal GmbH, I was looking for a modern, contemporary, and engaging website. Nadine took the time to really understand what I wanted. I'm extremely happy with the result — the new site hits exactly the tone and look I had in mind. What I valued most was Nadine's reliability, her openness to feedback, and her ability to perfectly balance design and functionality. I can wholeheartedly recommend Nadine and the Lilox team!
Fabian OlbrechtManaging Director, AnimatedReal5 out of 5
As a complete newcomer to marketing (especially LinkedIn/Google Ads), working with Nadine Fraiss and Lilox has been not only highly professional but also incredibly personable and empathetic. I'd wager Nadine can help marketing pros just as well — marketing beginners are certainly in extremely good hands. 100% recommended!
Alex SchubertManaging Director, netwiss OG5 out of 5
A top-notch execution. So glad I got to know Nadine. Very professional and friendly!
Svetlana GradwohlManaging Director, Gradwohl Creations/ 09 · Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about the playbook
What does the playbook cost?
Nothing. You get the complete 45 pages as a PDF, with no payment and no trial period.
How quickly do I get the PDF?
Immediately after you confirm your email address. The link arrives in your inbox automatically. No waiting room, no manual approval.
Will you call me afterwards?
No. We never call anyone without an invitation. If you want a conversation, you book a slot yourself.
What happens to my data?
Processing under GDPR, servers in the EU, no sharing with third parties. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time with one click.
Is it worth it if we are not funded yet?
Yes. The chapters on strategy, positioning and AI visibility apply regardless of funding. The 90-day plan then becomes your preparation rather than your starting gun.
Is this a sales document in disguise?
It is a working document. You can implement all of it yourself. At the end there is an offer to have it implemented. Nothing more.
Download
Get the playbook as a PDF
45 pages, in German, with a glossary and a checklist you can drop straight into your next board update.
What is in it
Six chapters, one implementation plan and one checklist: 45 pages in total.
- The seven most expensive mistakes, each with a countermeasure
- The 90-day plan with 18 concrete tasks
- The 28-point checklist to work through
- Eight building blocks for an AI-visible website
- The 40/40/20 rule for your marketing budget
- Mini glossary: ICP, GEO, CAC, SQL and more in 10 seconds
/ 10 · Next step
You will know what to do. The question is: who implements it?
LILOX builds exactly this system for tech startups: marketing strategy, brand, a website that is found in Google and AI search, and channels that deliver predictable leads. In 30 minutes we go through where you stand.
