One evening, frustrated and sleep-deprived, he threw his highlighter across the room. “There has to be a better way,” he muttered to his roommate, Enrico.
Instead of backing down, they pivoted. Docsity introduced a strict . Before a document could be downloaded, three other students had to verify that it was original, not a direct copy of a copyrighted text, and academically useful. They also created a "Verified Educator" badge for top contributors. This move turned Docsity from a chaotic file dump into a curated knowledge network. docsity
By 2012, Docsity had exploded. It wasn’t just Turin anymore. Students from Milan, Rome, Naples, and Bologna were uploading everything from jurisprudence case briefs to organic chemistry reaction maps. The platform had over 200,000 documents. But with growth came a crisis. One evening, frustrated and sleep-deprived, he threw his
That casual conversation planted a seed. Over the next few weeks, Riccardo, Enrico, and a small group of friends built a rudimentary website. It wasn't pretty. The font was Times New Roman, the layout was clunky, and the only feature was an upload button. But the idea was revolutionary for its time: a peer-to-peer document exchange where students could upload their own study notes, past exams, and summaries—and download those made by others. Docsity introduced a strict
One morning, Riccardo received a cease-and-desist letter from a major textbook publisher. The letter claimed that Docsity was facilitating copyright infringement. Panic spread through the small office. They had no legal team, no funding beyond a small angel investment, and their entire library was at risk.