Dev Foundry

Overview

DevFoundry is an Astro-based AI-first boilerplate inspired by ShipFast. It lets solo founders and small teams launch SaaS businesses and landing pages in hours, not days. It’s fast, modular, and extensible — designed for speed from concept to live product.

Motivation

Astro offers a unique middle ground: lightning-fast static builds with modular support for React and other JS frameworks. ShipFast proved the demand for boilerplates that accelerate SaaS launches, but it’s locked to a Next.js stack. DevFoundry exists because we want that same velocity but with Astro’s speed, simplicity, and AI-first integration baked in.

Origin Story

The spark for DevFoundry started on 17 July 2025, when I met James Lindsey for the first time at our mutual best friend Connor’s stag do. James has known Connor since school, while I met him at university back in 2016, so we came from different chapters of Connor’s life but shared the same circle of trust.

We carpooled together to Keswick, a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Sunderland, where we were staying in a cottage for the weekend. The entire drive was filled with conversation — about how we knew Connor, our interests, and, eventually, our work. James works in email marketing and automation for a big company, and I build websites. It quickly became obvious that our skills and temperaments complemented each other.

During that car ride, James mentioned he had a pile of unused domains and ideas, including DevFoundry. I laughed, because I had my own collection of expired domains and half-born ideas. It was the first hint that we were wired in similar ways.

On the way back, we decided I’d make a GoDaddy account to access those domains and just start launching things. One of the first ideas was to build around the domain IBuiltYourWebsite.com. My plan was to create quick, Loom-recorded website demos on subdomains for prospective clients. James was instantly on board, and we still intend to launch that as a vertical spin-off.

That weekend laid the foundation for what DevFoundry would become. Since then, we’ve kept in touch constantly — calls, messages, meeting his family — and the partnership has grown naturally out of shared curiosity, complementary skills, and a genuine friendship.

Why It Matters to Me

For me, what matters most with DevFoundry is that we’re building something that’s already proven to work — but making it better. ShipFast and similar Next.js boilerplates have shown that this model has real demand. What I care about is doing the same thing, but with a smarter, leaner, and more flexible approach.

Astro gives us that. It’s a powerful, modern framework that isn’t weighed down by the baggage of bigger stacks. By choosing Astro as the foundation and designing everything with modularity in mind, we can support multiple payment gateways, email providers, and other integrations without locking ourselves in.

This isn’t just about building another boilerplate; it’s about contributing something genuinely valuable to the developer community, especially within Astro’s growing ecosystem. I believe it’s the best option right now for fast, scalable builds that don’t sacrifice performance or simplicity.

This also fits into my personal philosophy as a builder:

• Modular: flexible by design, allowing endless extension.
• Grassroots: accessible to anyone, with a free-for-ever model.
• Optimization never dies: everything can be made leaner, faster, smarter.

DevFoundry is my way of proving that what already works can be improved upon — thoughtfully, efficiently, and with purpose.

Influences & References

The biggest influence behind DevFoundry is without question ShipFast. Following its creator on X and seeing how he’s used it to launch more than a dozen SaaS products really lit the spark for this project. He proved that a single, well-built boilerplate can power multiple successful launches, and James and I want DevFoundry to play that same role for us.

Another big nod goes to CodeStitch by Ryan (I’ll add his full name and X handle later). I discovered it on Reddit and was struck by its simplicity — a CSS-only framework turned into a thriving business pulling in tens of thousands of dollars per month, with a full team of designers and developers. It’s proof that simple ideas executed well can grow into something remarkable.

And finally, Astro itself. It’s one of the most enjoyable frameworks I’ve ever used, beautifully documented, and incredibly fast. It makes building something like DevFoundry not just possible, but exciting.

I’ll likely add more references over time as this project evolves and new inspirations emerge.

Key Decisions

The biggest decision we made early on was choosing Astro over Next.js. I genuinely believe Astro is a more capable and elegant framework for everything from beginner builds to expert-level projects. It gives us speed, simplicity, and flexibility without the overhead of heavier stacks.

We also decided that DevFoundry had to be modular and extensible. That means if something isn’t needed, it can be left out entirely, and if more functionality is required, it can be added like stacking Lego bricks. This gives developers the freedom to build lean MVPs or more complex products without unnecessary clutter.

Those two choices — Astro as the foundation and modularity as the philosophy — are the backbone of the entire project.

What Surprised Me

One of the biggest surprises for me was learning that ShipFast isn’t even a subscription-based product, yet its creator still generates serious monthly recurring revenue from it. That alone shows how much demand there is for something like this — and how powerful a well-built boilerplate can be.

I was also surprised by just how many ShipFast alternatives exist. Many of them don’t appear to offer anything particularly unique beyond their distribution channels. That in itself is proof that demand is strong enough to support multiple versions of essentially the same product.

And lastly, I’m genuinely surprised there hasn’t been a serious AI-first retrofit in this space yet. ShipFast has nods toward tools like Cursor or Copilot, but no one has built a truly AI-integrated version from the ground up. It feels like the market is overdue for a modern, AI-native alternative, and that makes this build even more exciting.

What I’ll Do Differently Next Time

I’ll come back and fill this in after launch, once I’ve had time to reflect on what worked well and what I’d approach differently. I’m aiming to revisit this around December 2025.

Challenges & Solutions

Screenshots

Big Hairy Audacious Goals

My biggest vision for DevFoundry is to build an ecosystem around it — something that becomes a foundation for launching many of my future businesses, but also something open enough that others can take inspiration from it and build their own versions.

I want DevFoundry to become a standard in the Astro community, just as ShipFast has become in the Next.js ecosystem. A long-term goal is to hit 50,000 stars or likes on GitHub, not just on a paid tier but on the free-for-ever version as well. That level of adoption would show that the project has real impact and is genuinely useful to builders everywhere.

Another big ambition is to collaborate with major brands or AI companies — whether that’s Warp, Cursor, Factory AI, or other forward-thinking dev tools — to see DevFoundry used as an official or featured boilerplate in larger ecosystems. It would be incredible to have it mentioned on podcasts, featured in showcases, or adopted as a starting point for teams building fast, AI-first products.

Ultimately, the audacious goal is simple: make DevFoundry one of the most loved Astro boilerplates by 2026, a go-to starting point for builders who value speed, modularity, and the power of AI integration.