Patrick Lebenbauer · Fractional CMO for Startups
Senior marketing leadership for lean startups.
You give me the goal and timeline. I build the pipeline.
I measure success in hard cash. Not impressions, not brand lift, not irrelevant fugazi numbers. That's the standard I hold for startups that don't have the budget for a full team yet, and are too serious to keep winging it: CMO-level strategy, AI-first execution, founder-level willingness to do the work myself, until the budget's there to hire and scale the team properly.
No fluff. No slow plays. Just results.
Built and led marketing inside
You don't need a full marketing department yet. You need someone who can do it all now, and build the team strategically as the budget grows.
Sound familiar?
✕You can't justify a €150K+ full-time CMO (or the three hires underneath them) yet.
✕Marketing is whoever has ten spare minutes this week.
✕Most agencies spread your account across a stack of other retainers. I only take on a very small number of mandates at a time, so yours gets my full attention, not whatever's left over.
✕Every euro of marketing spend has to earn its keep. That's exactly the environment I'm built for.
✕You need a founder, an operator, and a strategist running your marketing, not a committee.
✕You've tried "growth hackers." You need someone who's actually built a team from zero, and knows exactly what he's doing.
I think like a CMO, and execute like a founder.
Before I ever wrote a marketing brief, I ran construction projects worth up to €40 million in Austria: planning, budgets, bookkeeping, the full P&L. That's where the discipline comes from. I don't hand off the hard parts and talk strategy from a distance. I own outcomes, and the only goal that's ever mattered is profitability, fast.
For the past 14+ years, I've built and led marketing inside iGaming and fintech, two of the most regulated, highest-stakes verticals there are, where a wasted euro gets noticed immediately. I contributed to Tipico capturing half the German sports betting market. At paysafecard, I ran partner marketing across 100+ gaming brands, including bet365, 888, William Hill, Betfair and PokerStars, scaling to as many as 25 campaigns live in parallel during peak seasonal events like the World Cup. As CMO at Kafe Rocks, I helped scale the company from 20 to 100 employees in under a year, running HR and admin myself before a dedicated manager was hired. At Funanga, I built the marketing function from just me to a team of 13, while also designing and launching the company's new business unit from zero, on top of my existing role. That's the standard I bring to a startup with a fraction of that budget.
I'm hands-on by default. First the brand guidelines, the design deck, the website, and the tracking to measure it. Then the landing pages, paid ad accounts, SEO foundation, affiliate program, and social channels that bring traffic in. Then the content pipeline, calendar, email flows, and PR that keep it going. I connect all of it to one strategy, every vertical pushing toward the same number: revenue. I'll build every piece myself, then hand it over as the team grows. Every team I build exists to make money for shareholders, not likes on Instagram.
Today I run two profitable, AI-first businesses of my own, so I'm not applying strategy in theory, I'm applying it daily with my own money on the line. Alongside that, I take on a small number of fractional CMO mandates: lean, early-stage startups that want senior marketing leadership from someone who'll do the work, not just plan it.
Patrick Lebenbauer
Fractional CMO · Malta
- MSc, E-Commerce & Online Marketing
- BA, Marketing & Sales
- Diploma, Business Academy
- Entrepreneurial Marketing
- Leadership Principles
- AI Search Optimization Masterclass
- Content SEO and AI Optimization
- An AI-first affiliate media portfolio, built solo
- An AI-first website delivery service, built solo
Educated and certified through
Everything your marketing needs, delivered by one person.
Covers every lever that moves revenue, growth, paid, content, CRO, and more, run as one connected function, not eight separate expensive headcounts.
Growth & Affiliate Architecture
I've built affiliate programs from zero to multi-million-euro commission engines. I'll do the same for your partner, referral, and influencer channels.
Paid & Performance Media
Strategy, creative direction, and measurement across Meta, Google, TikTok and beyond, with a P&L owner watching every euro of spend.
SEO & Organic Growth
Technical, content and AI-search optimization built to compound, backed by multiple hands-on Surfer SEO certifications, not theory.
Retention, CRM & Conversion (CRO)
Email, SMS and lifecycle flows that turn one-time buyers into repeat revenue, plus onsite and funnel testing to convert more of the traffic you already have.
AI Image & Video Creative
On-brand product shots, lifestyle visuals, and scroll-stopping video ads, generated and directed with AI. No studio, no shoot day, no agency retainer.
Brand & Content Strategy
Positioning, messaging, social content, and PR built to hold up across markets and channels, not just one campaign.
AI-First Marketing Ops
GenAI embedded into research, content, reporting, and QA, plus the tracking and attribution dashboards to prove what's working, cutting costs while shipping faster than your current stack.
Websites in 24 Hours
A professional, conversion-ready website for your startup, live in 24 hours or less. No dev team, no agency timeline.
I take on a small number of mandates. Let's make sure this is a fit.
This is a fit if:
- You're a lean, early-stage startup that can't yet justify a full-time CMO or marketing team
- You want someone who builds the function from scratch: hires, briefs, and executes, not just advises
- You want marketing tied directly to revenue and shareholder value, not vanity metrics
- You want lean, AI-first execution, not a bloated retainer with six people on every call
- You need someone who can move fast, without three rounds of stakeholder sign-off
This isn't a fit if:
- You're pre-idea with zero budget allocated to marketing at all
- You want someone to just "manage the socials" for a fixed low fee
- You want an old-school and slow, committee-driven marketing process
- You're not ready to give a fractional CMO real decision-making authority
- You need someone on-site, full-time, five days a week
Three ways to bring me in, mapped to where your startup actually is.
Exact scope is confirmed on the call, every startup's situation is different. These are the starting points. I only take on a small number of engagements at a time, so if the timing works, it's worth moving on it.
Starter
- 20 hrs/month strategic advisory
- Marketing plan, channel priorities & budget roadmap
- Monthly 1:1 strategy call with founders
- Async Slack/email support between calls
Builder
- 40 hrs/month hands-on execution
- I set up and run all relevant channels
- Tracking & measurement built from day one
- Monthly strategy session with founders
Growth
- 80 hrs/month embedded involvement
- Channel strategy: paid, affiliate, CRO, retention
- Weekly reporting & team leadership
- Still hands-on where it counts, not just advice
Project-based audits and hourly consulting also available, from €133.7/hr.
Questions worth scheduling the call
A full-time CMO (plus the team underneath them) typically costs €200K to €400K+ a year before results even start. Most early-stage startups don't have this budget available, and don't need it yet. A fractional mandate gets you the same senior-level thinking and hands-on execution at a fraction of the cost, starting within a week.
Because an agency spreads your account across a stack of other clients, with junior staff doing the actual work while you pay for senior rates. With me, there's no account manager relaying messages between you and "the team." You get the senior person directly, on every call, doing the actual work. That's not a downside of being solo, it's the whole point.
That's exactly who Starter and Builder are built for. I've started marketing functions from a team of one before, so I know what it looks like to not have the budget for a full department yet. If there's real (modest) budget and real intent to invest in growth, it's worth a conversation.
Both, depending on what you need. If you have no team yet, I get hands-on. If you have people in place, I direct and upgrade their work. Either way, I don't disappear into a strategy deck.
Starter is 20 hours a month of strategic advisory. Builder is 40 hours a month of hands-on execution. Growth is 80 hours a month of embedded involvement. We'll agree the exact cadence and availability on the call.
A 6-month initial term, so there's enough runway to actually move numbers. After that, it's flexible.
Usually not. I direct and upgrade what's already there (your team, your agencies, your tools) and fill the strategic and accountability gap sitting above them.
Because those verticals are harder, not easier: tighter margins, heavier regulation, and zero tolerance for wasted spend. The fundamentals (acquisition, retention, affiliate economics, team-building from zero, measurement) transfer directly to any startup that needs marketing tied to revenue, not vanity metrics.
Usually within a week of the strategy call, once scope is confirmed.
Let's talk about your pipeline.
If you need someone who has built it, scaled it, and can hit the ground running from day one, let's talk. Tell me a bit about your business below, and I'll get back to you within one business day.
Thanks, that's in my inbox. I'll get back to you within one business day.