๐ My Journey of Building & Launching an AI-Powered Book Chat Platform! ๐๐ค
A 3 days ago, I had an idea: What if books could talk back? What if instead of passively reading, you could have a real conversation with themโasking questions, getting insights, and applying lessons in real life? Thatโs how this journey started. But what followed was a rollercoaster ride of building, breaking, and learning. The Initial Vision I wanted to create an app where users could: โ
Ask any book questions and get AI-generated answers. โ
Get 5-minute summaries to quickly grasp key ideas. โ
Receive actionable lessons they could apply immediately. โ
Explore similar books based on their interests. The goal was simple: Make self-improvement books more interactive, engaging, and accessible. The Challenges & Setbacks ๐ก Monetization Woes: Initially, I planned a subscription model with Stripe. But guess what? Stripe doesnโt support India. Then, I tried PayPalโsame issue. I went through multiple payment providers, but none worked seamlessly. After weeks of struggle, I made a big decision: Make the app completely free. ๐ ๐ป Tech Challenges: From integrating the Gemini AI model with Vercel AI SDK to handling authentication and database structuring, it was a deep dive into scaling AI applications efficiently. Managing Firestore, handling API limits, and ensuring smooth conversations took a lot of iteration. ๐ Late Nights & Doubts: There were moments when I felt this was just another side project that wouldnโt launch. But I kept pushing because I knew this idea had potential. The Launch & Whatโs Next? Now, after all these challenges, the app is LIVE & FREE for everyone! ๐ Iโd love for you to try it out, ask questions to books, and share your feedback. This is just V1, and I have a ton of ideas for improvements. Would love to hear from you: What features should I add next? ๐ค ๐ https://www.producthunt.com/posts/page-whisper