Vellum

Publication grade architecture diagrams for high growth engineering teams

Engineering teams waste dozens of hours manually drawing system architectures in design software or settling for unreadable auto-generated diagrams that executives reject.

Vellum converts repository structures and cloud infrastructure into publication-grade vector graphics designed for enterprise documentation and board decks. By enforcing design tokens and automated vector positioning, engineering leaders eliminate tedious layout maintenance while keeping visual documentation synchronized with live code. The platform bridges the gap between deep technical implementation and editorial-quality graphic presentation.

Vellum aims to become the universal visual publishing engine for enterprise software architecture.

COMMENTS — Community Discussion

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Problem

When I pitch enterprise buyers, I want to present sleek system architecture diagrams, but drawing them manually in Figma consumes $1k+ of expensive developer time.
Why Now: Engineering teams push code faster than ever using automated assistant tools, causing static architecture documentation and system diagrams to go obsolete within days.
When I publish public API documentation, I want visual flowcharts that reflect premium brand design, but open-source diagram renderers generate amateurish and unpolished graphics.
When I execute technical due diligence for SOC2 compliance or acquisitions, I want structured system visual maps, but manual scripts produce unreadable spaghetti diagrams.
Existing Alternatives: Spending $500 per diagram on external graphic design agencies, struggling with manual generic whiteboards, or exporting basic unstyled text-based flowcharts.

Solution

High-Level Concept: Figma for technical system diagrams and publication visuals.

Editorial SVG rendering engine that automatically converts codebase topologies and cloud state into executive-ready visual assets.
Continuous CI/CD bindings that automatically update visual diagrams whenever infrastructure or repository structures change in production.
Brand token design system ensuring all rendered graphics automatically adopt custom corporate fonts, colors, and spatial grid systems.

Distribution

CTOs, Principal System Architects, and Developer Relations leads at high-growth B2B software companies.
Guerrilla Channel 1: Open-source terminal CLI that renders publication-grade SVG architecture diagrams directly from GitHub repositories with a single command.
Guerrilla Channel 2: Weekly architecture breakdowns in top technical newsletters demonstrating raw Mermaid graphics transformed into Vellum publication visuals.
Guerrilla Channel 3: Free interactive visual architecture template library targeting popular stacks like Next.js, Supabase, and Kubernetes topologies.

Pricing

Value Ladder: Free Tier ($0 for 3 public diagrams)
Pro Tier ($29/month per user for automated sync)
Enterprise Tier ($499/month for brand guardrails and custom VPC hosting).
One Metric That Matters [OMTM]: Number of active dynamically synced architecture graphics rendered across enterprise client sites.
Market Sizing: SAM of 150k B2B software firms with 10+ engineers multiplied by $350/month average contract value equals $630M ARR potential. SOM Year 1 target is 100 paying accounts generating $300k ARR.

Scale Costs

High-throughput vector placement cluster nodes optimized for graph layout calculations on massive enterprise microservice trees.
Enterprise SOC2 Type II security audits and dedicated private cloud infrastructure deployments for financial enterprise clients.

Expert Opinions

Avg: 9.4

world-famous Principal Software Architect and former VP of Engineering at Stripe
9.5
world-class B2B SaaS Product Strategist and Partner at Founders Fund with $1B+ portfolio
9.2
world-renowned Enterprise Design Systems Director with 15+ years scaling developer platforms
9.4

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