Sol Nasisi is a digital innovator with twenty years of experience developing and applying technology to make various industries more open, efficient, and transparent. He helped build the online banking application for FleetBoston financial, co-founded financial transparency company BestCashCow, and helped launch Bentley University’s acceptance of cryptocurrencies for tuition payments. As the founder of Booksie.com, he is focused on using artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other digital tools to help writers from across the world better tell their stories. His newest company, Chainletter Labs, will leverage blockchain technology to enforce trust across a variety of industries such as publishing, higher education, finance, scientific research and more. He is the author of several fiction novels, and a musical, Digital — the Musical, that draws from his experiences working in the digital world.
Hello Sol! We are happy to offer you an opportunity like an interview to tell a wider audience more about you and your experience. You have an impressive background, and first, our readers and I would like to know more about how you started your career and got into this field?
I grew up in a suburb of Boston in a small neighborhood with two friends living next door. We spent most of our time building things — forts, games, rockets, gizmos, and gadgets. In high school, I formed a band, and we spent hours writing and rehearsing our songs. We played a few gigs, where we opened for some well-known local Boston bands. I think all of this provided me with a taste for creating something new and the exhilaration that comes from seeing it come to life. I also always loved to write. The ability to create a whole new world with just the thoughts in my mind was really powerful. I wanted to tell stories.
In business school, I started playing around with this thing called the Internet. It was early days, and I was captivated. I started my first Internet company with a classmate selling posters and prints. Since then, I’ve started two more online companies, and worked in the digital space for a Fortune 500 company, start-ups, and a higher education institution. Booksie represents the fusion of my creative side and my love for technology.
How did you come up with the idea for Booksie? What is the mission of this company?
I always loved to write, but it was difficult getting feedback. You can only ask your parents, girlfriend, or friends to read your writing so many times. So, when the Internet appeared and people with the same interests began congregating, I saw an opportunity to develop a place where writers could get that feedback. I also saw it as a place where writers could get read. It didn’t seem fair to me that only a tiny sliver could get their books published. Now, some stories on Booksie have more readership than the majority of published books.
Do I understand correctly that you have an entire community of authors and writers on this platform? How do they interact with each other?
Yes, Booksie has hundreds of thousands of writers and millions of readers. We’ve built tools that allow them to interact. Readers can become fans of authors and follow their postings. They can also leave private messages, “shelf” the work of writers they like, and purchase Limited Editions of their favorite authors. Booksie also has Houses that function as sub-sites where writers and readers can connect around a certain genre. Each House has its own message forum to further create community.
Could you share any stories related to the creation of the platform?
I’ve had many instances of writers meeting on the site, developing a relationship, and then getting married. We’re not a dating site, but it’s a testament to the community that deep relationships can form. They say it’s always the people, and by and large, I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many talented writers from around the world.
I had one member who emailed me that he was traveling to my area and could we get together. We met, had dinner, and kept in touch to exchange thoughts on writing and life. I had another writer who published a book on the site, “Screaming in the Silence” which started to gain hundreds of thousands of reeds. We decided to publish the book under our publishing company, and it became an Amazon bestseller.
What technologies did you use to build the platform? What advantages can you highlight?
We use a variety of technologies. Some are more mature technologies like PHP and MySQL. Some of our newer code is written in JavaScript front-end frameworks like React. We don’t chase the newest and greatest but test out new tech and see how we can add it to our stack. For example, React is a really robust framework for quickly creating applications that can be more easily made into mobile apps. But it’s terrible for search engine discoverability. So, we try to understand the need and use the tried-and-true tech that solves that particular need.
Could you tell us about any other projects you are working on?
We’ve had two big initiatives over the last six months in the AI and blockchain space. For AI, we’ve created a service that will review an author’s writing and provide substantive feedback on what they can do to improve it. It’s specifically tuned for creative writing so is really good at reviewing books, short stories, poems, and more.
We also just released two blockchain projects. One allows authors to release Limited Editions of their writing, secured by blockchain ownership. It allows authors to collect and own the work of their favorite authors. The second project is Postmarks, digital stamps that an author can use to prove their ownership of writing before they publicly make it available. We’re extending it so that it can also be used to provide ownership should an AI scoop up the work without an author’s permission.
Now let’s move on to other questions that will help our readers learn something new about you. Do you have a favorite book?
My favorite book is “The Fabric of Reality” by David Deutsch. It’s a non-fiction book that combines philosophy with quantum physics to explore how the world works. It’s dense, but you won’t see the world the same way after reading it. My favorite fiction book is “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The ultimate revenge story, which is the basis for so many contemporary novels and movies today.
Share your favorite quote that motivates you?
“If you never have dreams, they’ll never come true.” From Angel in Blue by the J. Geils Band. It says it all to me.
What or who makes you happy every day?
My family makes me happy. I also like making progress on my projects, including Booksie.
Which famous personalities inspire or motivate you?
I’m inspired by people who have changed the way the world operates in some fundamental way. Sir Isaac Newton who helped kick off the Enlightenment. The Founding Fathers (Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton) envisioned a new, better form of governance. Today, as controversial as he is, I would put Elon Musk in that category. These are all people who thought big and created seismic changes in the world.
Thank you for answering the questions!
