Why Early-Stage Marketing Budgets Go Off the Rails

How much should I spend on marketing is the wrong question.

This week’s issue comes from Gregory Kennedy. He is a micro fractional CMO and the creator of Vibe Your SaaS Gregory has been around the block in the San Francisco startup scene. He led marketing at fast moving startups like inMobi, Nextroll and Sojern.

I found Gregory on X and since then we’ve been trading ideas on startup strategy, tearing apart messy GTM moves and swapping memes. He’s sharp and I’ve learned a lot from him.

Marketing budgets are one of the biggest blind spots for early stage founders. Gregory has one of the cleanest mental models for fixing that, so I asked him to break it down for you.

He also says he has Irish roots but I’ll believe it when I see the paperwork.

Alright. Over to Gregory.

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Gregory Kennedy | Vibe Your SaaS

A Founder’s Guide to Marketing Budgeting

Founders always ask me:

“How much should I spend on marketing?” But that’s the wrong question.

The right question is: “What actually matters at your stage?”

(Click here to get the Google sheet of Sample B2B Startup Marketing Budgets. Don’t request access. Make a copy and go to town on this version.)

Because I’ve seen pre-seed startups blow $5,000/month on Google Ads when they don’t even have a functional signup page. I’ve watched seed-stage companies hire a full-time content person before they’ve figured out what content they need, let alone what converts. And I’ve seen a Series A startup run an expensive OOH (Out Of Home, think billboards and bus shelters) brand campaign targeting developers (I guess they take the bus) when they couldn’t effectively explain the product in a 30-minute-long Zoom call.

Your marketing budget isn’t just about how much you spend. It’s about what works, and where you should focus at each stage.

Here’s the breakdown that most other marketers won’t give you.

Pre-Seed: $10,000/Month (Or Get to Default Alive)

The Reality: At pre-seed, you’re not “doing marketing.” You’re running science experiments with a credit card. Your entire job is to figure out if anyone actually wants what you’re building before you run out of money.

Focus: Content and your core messaging.

Here’s Where Your $10K Actually Goes

Content Marketing: 40% ($4,000/month)

• AI automation tools ($1,500)

• Actual human copywriting ($1,500)

• Social media management ($700)

• Design and visuals ($300)

Digital Foundation: 25% ($2,500/month)

• Website development and hosting ($1,500)

• Email marketing tools ($500)

• Analytics and tracking ($500)

Lead Gen & Events: 20% ($2,000/month)

• Events and trade shows ($1,000)

• Social media / newsletter ads ($800)

• List building ($200)

Brand Development: 15% ($1,500/month)

• PR and outreach ($800)

• Marketing collateral ($400)

• Brand identity ($300)

Seed Stage: $35,000/Month (Or Time to Figure Out What Actually Works)

The Reality: You’ve raised some money. Congratulations. Now comes the hard part: spending it so it has a big impact. At seed, you have just enough traction to be dangerous. Now you need to build a growth marketing engine.

Focus: Amplifying your message with paid.

Here’s Your $35K Breakdown:

Growth Marketing: 45% ($15,700/month)

• Paid ads / Paid social ($4,000)

• Events and trade shows ($4,000)

• Newsletters ($2,500)

• Influencer partnerships ($2,000)

• Referral program incentives ($1,500)

• Growth experiments ($1,000)

• Community building ($500)

• List building ($200)

Content Marketing: 21% ($7,300/month)

• AI automation tools ($2,500)

• Content and copywriting ($3,500)

• Video content production ($1,000)

• Design and visuals ($300)

Marketing Technology: 13% ($4,500/month)

• CRM and marketing automation ($2,000)

• Analytics and attribution tools ($1,500)

• A/B testing tools ($400)

• Social media management platforms ($600)

Digital Foundation: 11% ($4,000/month)

• Website development and hosting ($2,500)

• Analytics and tracking tools ($1,000)

• Email marketing tools ($500)

Brand Development: 10% ($3,500/month)

• PR agency or consultant ($2,000)

• Marketing collateral ($700)

• Brand identity and design ($500)

• Brand partnerships ($300)

Series A: $100,000/Month (Or Building the Machine)

The Reality: You’ve raised more money. You have real traction. Now you need to operationalize go-to-market. Series A isn’t about scrappiness anymore. It’s about systems, processes, and predictability.

Focus: Creating go-to-market SOPs (Standards Operating Procedures).

Here’s How You Spend $100K Without Lighting It on Fire:

Growth Marketing: 45% ($45,000/month)

• Google Ads and search marketing ($15,000)

• Social media advertising ($12,000)

• Display and programmatic ($6,000)

• Retargeting and remarketing ($4,000)

• Testing emerging channels ($3,000)

• AI automation ($2,000)

• Growth experiments ($1,000)

• Email marketing tools ($1,000)

• Community building ($1,000)

Brand Development: 20% ($22,000/month)

• PR agency retainer ($9,000)

• Website development and hosting ($5,000)

• Brand campaigns ($2,500)

• Design and creative tools ($1,000)

• Thought leadership ($1,000)

• Brand identity and design ($1,500)

Content Marketing: 20% ($20,000/month)

• Content team salaries/contractors ($10,000)

• AI automation tools ($4,000)

• Video/audio production ($3,500)

• Graphic design and visuals ($2,500)

Marketing Operations: 15% ($15,000/month)

• AI and marketing automation ($4,000)

• CRM and sales tools ($3,500):

• Analytics and BI tools ($3,000)

• Testing and optimization tools ($2,500)

• Analytics and tracking tools ($2,000)

Remember, These Budgets Aren’t Rigid Rules

The best founders I work with know that there is no prize for following this precisely. They use them as a starting point, then adapt based on what’s actually working for their business. Maybe you need to plow every dollar into paid ads? Or maybe it’s events and hackathons?

It’s about understanding what matters at your stage, investing in the fundamentals, and making every dollar you spend count.

Click here to get the Google sheet of Sample B2B Startup Marketing Budgets that this edition of the newsletter was based on.

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Big thanks to Gregory for putting this together.

If you want more from him, follow him on X or subscribe to Vibe Your SaaS.

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