· Venturi Code
Before AI coding tools, the slow part of launching a SaaS was the plumbing: sign-in, payments, emails, a database, a landing page. Boilerplates like ShipFast, Makerkit and Supastarter became popular because they hand you that plumbing on day one.
If you build with Cursor, Claude Code or Codex, the plumbing is no longer the slow part. Your AI tool can wire up sign-in and a database in an afternoon. What it doesn’t do is make the app sell.
Two different jobs
- A boilerplate is a starting codebase: authentication, payments set-up, emails, a basic landing page. It is the foundation of the app.
- A conversion layer is what sits on top of any app: pricing and checkout that convert, proof, urgency, order bumps, paywalls, cancel flows, referrals. It decides how much money the foundation makes.
When a boilerplate is the right choice
You are starting from nothing, you want an opinionated structure, and you would rather not let an AI tool decide your auth and database set-up. Pick the one whose stack you like and whose community is active.
When you need a conversion layer instead
Your app already earns, you pay for traffic, and too few visitors buy. Or you started with a boilerplate and the landing page converts poorly. In both cases another starting codebase doesn’t help: you need the pieces that persuade.
Where Venturi fits
Venturi is a conversion layer for apps built with AI. Its 81 components add to an app you already have with npx venturi-dev add, and with Pro your AI tool adds them through the Venturi MCP agent. If you are starting fresh, npx venturi-dev init gives you a Next.js, Supabase and Stripe starter with the conversion blueprint already in place, so it can also replace a boilerplate.
You can also use both: a boilerplate for the foundation, Venturi blocks for the pages that sell. Check each product’s current pricing and features on its own site, since they change often.