Built an AI-Powered News Summarizer for minimalists after Getting Laid Off – Lessons & My story
A few months ago, I got laid off from my frontend engineering job. I thought I needed a break, but after just a few days, I realized I love building things and can’t sit still. So I created BriefNewsDaily—an AI-driven tool that summarizes daily news in 100 words or less, designed for minimalists who want just the facts, without ads or distractions.
Why I Built This
I invest in U.S. stocks (even though I am based in Poland) and needed a simple, no-BS way to stay updated on major U.S. headlines. Traditional news sites are overloaded with ads, banners, and clickbait. AI chatbots can summarize news, but I didn’t want to manually ask for each article.
So I built BriefNewsDaily, which:
✅ Finds the top news daily (U.S., Business, Tech, Science)
✅ Summarizes it into a 100-word brief (with an extended version available)
✅ Eliminates distractions—no ads, no fluff, just news
The Tech Behind It
Frontend: Next.js (React + TypeScript) for server-side rendering
Backend: DynamoDB + AWS Lambda for scheduling tasks
AI: ChatGPT API to analyze & summarize articles
Sources: Multiple news APIs to gather daily stories
Subscription plans
Free Plan: 2 news briefs per category (8 per day)
Premium Plan: ~20 daily summaries, with a 30-day free trial (cancel anytime)
What I’ve Learned So Far
Launching solo is overwhelming but fun—especially when balancing product-building, marketing, and finding users.
Finding the right users is harder than coding—I assumed people would stumble upon it, but early distribution has been tricky.
The HN launch got some engagement, but I’d love to hear how other indie hackers drive first users without paid ads.
I’d love your feedback—on the product, the growth strategy, or anything else! Also, if you have any tips for getting early traction, I’m all ears.
🚀 Try it out: https://BriefNewsDaily.com
