American designer went from divorce, sudden job loss to building redundancy support tool using Claude AI | Today’s news
When Amanda Snyder Cathey, a senior product designer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, lost her job at a real estate technology company, it was the second of three major life disruptions in a matter of weeks.
Instead of succumbing to the “fog” of being laid off, she channeled her experience into building a free tool designed to help others navigate the complexities of sudden unemployment.
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A cascade of crises
According to a Business Insider report, February brought a wave of upheaval for Cathey.
The day after the divorce was finalized, she was fired from the company where she had worked for five years. Although she knew layoffs were possible, her former employer had gone through several rounds of them, and the news was still shocking.
Instability quickly added.
A few weeks later, her landlord forced her to move out quickly due to a septic problem in her rental home. Meanwhile, her oldest of three daughters was preparing for college in the fall, prompting Cathey to reapply for financial aid at each future school, a reflection of her drastically reduced income.
Having successfully bounced back from a previous layoff without needing unemployment benefits, Cathey knew this time would require a different approach.
Realizing that the current job market would require a longer financial trajectory, she took time off to regroup and not feel like a “deer in the headlights.”
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Identification of extended need
The inspiration for her next move came during a late-night brainstorming session with a friend, Cathey told BI. She was looking for ways to create something with AI because her recent job interviews kept asking about her practical application of AI tools.
Drawing from her frustrating post-layoff resource search and noticing a flurry of people on LinkedIn struggling with similar issues, she identified the perfect use case: a comprehensive layoff support platform.
Demystifying the process
The result is RIF Surfer, a one-stop website that allows individuals to search by state for essential resources. The platform directs users to information on:
- Dole
- Health insurance and coverage
- Food aid
- Mental Health Resources
Incorporating mental health support was a priority for Cathey, who notes that losing a job deals a severe blow to a person’s self-esteem.
RIF Surfer also includes a post-release checklist, highlighting critical information that surprised Cathey herself. The platform aims to demystify complex rules, such as the fact that individuals can still qualify for Medicaid or that receiving severance pay does not necessarily disqualify someone from receiving unemployment benefits.
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“Vibe-Coding” solution.
Despite being more of a designer than an engineer, Cathey built the RIF Surfer in just a week by “vibration coding” with AI assistant Claude. Treating AI as a cognitive partner, she told BI that she finds the process natural, comparing it to the familiar role of an art director.
Inspired by the utilitarian, straightforward design of the gov.uk benefits search engine, RIF Surfer has kept the interface basic and functional. The project was also incredibly cost effective. Aside from her standard Claude subscription, her only expenses were roughly $50 in usage fees incurred one night when she reached her limit but was too busy building to stop.
Soft landing
Cathey planned to keep RIF Surfer free for individual users. While he sees potential to monetize the platform by white-labeling it for enterprise companies or outplacement firms to adapt it for their departing employees, its primary focus is community support, according to BI.
For now, this site is a free resource designed to help professionals get back on track. As Cathey says, it offers a soft landing while we all learn to surf this wave.
