DataGuard: From Zero Marketing to 330% MQL Growth in Under 6 Months

DataGuard is a leading “Privacy-as-a-Service” provider based in Berlin, Munich, and London. Their product combines expert support and a digital platform to simplify data privacy compliance for over 1,500 customers.

They had a solid product, a talented team, and funding to grow, but their marketing was ineffective. With no strategy or structure in place, they needed more than quick fixes, so they brought in Kalungi.

Results at a Glance:

• 330% increase in Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs).
• $4M in qualified pipeline.
• 581% increase in organic traffic.
• 607% increase in first-page search results.
• 93% decrease in bounce rate.
• 9 marketing team members hired and trained.
• 1 new market launched.

The Challenge: Scaling Fast Without a Marketing Engine 

In early 2020, DataGuard was growing fast, but their marketing couldn’t keep up. They had a great product and big ambitions, but no structured marketing function and a small team. They needed to:

• Hire and train an internal team.
• Launch new demand gen channels.
• Overhaul their website and marketing tech.
• Build a brand and generate pipeline fast.

“When Kalungi joined, the marketing team was really small, and the fundamentals were not there 100%. From messaging to the process to the tools—they were all missing. We needed a fast solution, and we needed a new approach.” — Kivanc Semen, Founder and CEO.

The Solution: Instant-On Team with A Long-Term Vision

Kalungi brought in a full team, led by a fractional CMO, to run DataGuard’s marketing initiatives. Backed by its T2D3 playbook, the team moved quickly to deliver the leadership and execution Dataguard needed. 

“The uniqueness of Kalungi comes especially from its hybrid approach, combining marketing leadership and management capabilities with agency services. They had everything we needed.” — Kivanc Semen.

Kalungi took full ownership from day one, setting up systems, hiring internal staff, and preparing for a seamless handoff when the time came.

Execution: Building the Foundation and Empowering the Team

Fast setup and onboarding:

Kalungi built the foundation while hiring the internal team in parallel, including Ines, DataGuard’s new head of marketing.

“I'm really impressed with the speed and how things were set up. Kalungi brought not only the marketing but the whole appearance of DataGuard to the next level.” — Ines Quella, Head of Marketing.

Senior expertise and systems: 

The Kalungi team rebuilt Dataguard’s martech stack, migrated it to HubSpot, and launched multichannel campaigns with proven B2B SaaS practices.

“Kalungi is a plug-and-play marketing team with flexible workers who can easily swoop in and fill any position in marketing. The team is super experienced—they have senior experience—and they’re a HubSpot partner. All of that is really the blueprint of building blocks needed for a strong marketing strategy.” — Helena Kleine, Growth Copywriter.

Designed to scale:

Kalungi focused on delivering results fast while preparing the internal team to take over. From day one, the goal was clear: build the foundation, train the team, and hand off a system that could scale. 

“What's different about Kalungi is that they come in with the mission to really change something in each company, to build a marketing team from scratch in six to 12 months and empower each member so that they can continue to drive results.” — Moritz Drews, Growth Marketing Manager.

The Results: A Fully Operational Engine Built for Growth

“Kalungi moved in like a helicopter. They were here, set up everything correctly, and now they’re transitioning out. They really helped us, and the result is just fantastic.” — Andreas Rubsam, Head of Privacy (SMB).

In less than six months, Kalungi helped DataGuard go from no structured marketing to a complete, scalable engine. DataGuard exceeded its goals:

• 330% increase in MQLs.
• $4M in qualified pipeline.
• 9 marketing hires, including a new Head of Marketing.

“I don’t think this would have been possible at DataGuard without Kalungi’s support. They helped build the whole team and really empowered us to reach that.” — Moritz Drews.

With stronger messaging and better-qualified leads, sales reps can now close deals in hours. Prospects also arrive more informed for sales calls.

Looking Ahead: Set Up to Scale

“Stijn and Kalungi really set the vision for growth marketing at DataGuard. They defined product marketing, our personas, our ICP—there’s so much work already done and it’s really amazing.” — Ines Quella.

Want to build a marketing engine that lasts?

If your team lacks the time or structure to build a full GTM function from scratch, Kalungi can help.

Book a discovery call to learn how we partner with SaaS teams to quickly go from zero to scalable.