How SaaS Boilerplates Have an Impact on Growth: A Close Look at 5 Thriving SaaS Companies

8 min read
Cover image for How SaaS Boilerplates Have an Impact on Growth: A Close Look at 5 Thriving SaaS Companies

Creating a SaaS product from the ground up takes a lot of time and effort. Many businesses don't reach their full potential because of lengthy development cycles steep costs, and doing the same work over and over on standard features such as authentication, payments, and user management. This is where SaaS boilerplates step in.

Rather than starting from scratch, today's SaaS founders and development teams turn to ready-made top-notch SaaS boilerplates to launch quicker, cut expenses, and zero in on what sets their products apart.

Why SaaS Boilerplates? The Core of a Growing SaaS Company

A SaaS boilerplate isn't just a basic template—it's a well-organized development framework that has all the key parts of a SaaS platform. We at Startbase have built a Next.js & TypeScript-based SaaS boilerplate that gives you everything to build and grow your SaaS business well.

The Competitive Edge: SaaS Boilerplates and Their Importance

Do you realize that 70-80% of a SaaS product has features others have built many times before?

A SaaS product needs core features like:

Authentication & User Management (OAuth, JWT, RBAC)

Payments & Subscriptions (Stripe, Paddle, PayPal)

Email Automation & Notifications

Multi-Tenancy Support & Role-Based Access Control

SEO Optimization, Search Functionality, and Marketing Integrations

Pre-built SaaS boilerplates allow companies to:

🚀 Cut development time from 12-18 months to 3-6 months

💰 Cut development costs by up to 40%

📈 Boost developer output and concentrate on business logic

Do Thriving SaaS Companies Actually Use Boilerplates?

The answer is a clear yes. Many fast-growing SaaS companies used boilerplates to **speed up their MVP creation and grow their businesses **.

Let's look at 5 industry leaders who used SaaS boilerplates to grow:

1. ConvertKit: Bootstrapping to $30M+ ARR

🔗 Website: convertkit.com

🚀 The Challenge: ConvertKit had to go up against Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign while working with limited funds. They needed to roll out their MVP fast without cutting essential features.

How a Boilerplate Made Things Easier:

  • Put in place ready-made login systems, subscription handling, and email layouts.

  • Used a SaaS development tool to make their work smoother.

  • Added Stripe payments without much coding work.

🎯 Outcomes:

Rolled out MVP in 3 months.

Reached $100K ARR in 18 months.

Now pulling in over $30M ARR.

🔥 Lesson: A good SaaS boilerplate speeds up market entry and helps startups grow on a budget.

2. Superhuman: Fast SaaS for Better Email

🔗 Website: superhuman.com

🚀 The Challenge: Superhuman aimed to create the fastest email tool, but building everything from the ground up would take too long.

How a Boilerplate Helped:

  • Next.js & React-based boilerplate built for speed.

  • Ready-made login systems & UI parts cut down launch time.

  • Easy-to-use tools allowed quick changes.

🎯 Results:

App load time dropped below 100ms.

Premium subscription costs $30 per user each month.

🔥 Lesson: Even fast SaaS platforms can get a boost from boilerplates to speed up their creation.

3. Front: Growing a Multi-Tenant SaaS App

🔗 Website: front.com

🚀 The Challenge: Front had to create a safe multi-tenant email system for teams, but building from the ground up would take too long.

How a Boilerplate Helped:

  • OAuth & RBAC-based login provided top-notch security.

  • Stripe & third-party payment gateways blend smoothly.

  • Used a Node.js SaaS boilerplate to develop a scalable backend.

🎯 Results:

$1M ARR reached in 12 months.

Hundreds of enterprise clients now use the service.

🔥 Lesson: Boilerplates simplify security and multi-tenancy making them perfect for B2B SaaS products.

4. Indie Hackers: Building a Thriving Community in Record Time

🔗 Website: indiehackers.com

🚀 The Challenge: Indie Hackers wanted to get a community platform up and running fast without messing with unneeded complications.

How a Boilerplate Helped:

  • Created with Next.js & Supabase-based SaaS boilerplate.

  • Ready-made authentication & user management.

  • Built to grow using serverless infrastructure.

🎯 Results:

MVP went live in just 3 months.

Started making money through Stripe integration.

🔥 Lesson: When starting a content-driven SaaS, speed to market is key.

5. Gumroad: Empowering Digital Creators with Easy Payments

🔗 Website: gumroad.com

🚀 The Challenge: Gumroad aimed to help digital creators sell their products, but creating a secure payment system from the ground up cost too much.

How a Boilerplate Helped:

  • Added Stripe integration to process transactions .

  • Used ready-made email tools to keep customers engaged.

🎯 Results:

Creators sold thousands of digital products in just 6 months.

Gumroad cut development costs by 40%.

🔥 Lesson: Boilerplates make payment integrations easier letting SaaS founders put their energy into growth rather than wrestling with technical challenges.

Begin Your SaaS Adventure with Startbase SaaS Boilerplate

At Startbase, we offer a powerful, Next.js & TypeScript-based SaaS boilerplate that allows developers to pour their efforts into new ideas, not building the same basic infrastructure over and over.

Startbase SaaS Boilerplate Features:

Up-to-date Tech Stack: Next.js (App Router) TypeScript, Sass

Adaptable UI: Landing Page, Dashboard, Mobile-Ready Components

Authentication & User Management: Social Logins, Roles & Permissions, Consent Manager

Subscription Management: Stripe-powered billing, user plans, and recurring payments

Automated Email System: Email templates, newsletters transactional emails

SEO & Marketing Tools: Search functionality markdown renderer, blog system

CRUD Operations & Common Components: Reusable UI elements dark mode support themable forms

Security & Performance: Background jobs, file uploads, form validations

Why Pick Startbase?

Buy once and get updates for life—no surprise costs.

Ready-made authentication dashboard, Stripe payments, and more.

Built to excel in SEO, and handle growth.

Support for multiple tenants as your business expands.

Launch Your SaaS Product Quicker 🚀

Startbase SaaS Boilerplate helps you to roll out your SaaS MVP in weeks rather than devoting months to code the basics.

👉 Get Startbase SaaS Boilerplate and Begin Growing Now

P.S: Startbase.dev is our SaaS project.

Gizem Turker, Co-Founder @ Startbase

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