Readiverse is a tool designed to support literacy development by helping children engage with stories, record their reading, and track progress over time in a practical, reviewable way. It was built to better understand how a child is reading – not just whether or not they are reading.
That’s the function.
The reason why it exists is something else entirely.
Built out of need, not ambition.
Readiverse did not begin as a startup idea or a business opportunity. It began as a concern shared by two parents.
Oury Diallo and Suhaim Abdussamad are both fathers. Like many parents, they wanted to understand how their children were progressing with reading – not just through grades or broad indicators, but through actual evidence: how words were being decoded, where comprehension faltered, what improved, and what didn’t. When they began to see issues with their children’s literacy, they were concerned with the lack of insight and needed a way to investigate.
What they found was not a lack of effort from schools or teachers, but a lack of visibility.
Literacy assessment is complex, especially in early years. Teachers carry large workloads, manage full classrooms, and are often required to identify issues quickly, document them briefly, and move on – keeping up can be a struggle. That reality can lead to late identification of reading challenges – not because educators aren’t paying attention, but because the system does not give them the time or tools to see everything clearly.
For parents, this creates uncertainty. For educators, it creates pressure.
A systemic issue, not an individual one.
The more they reflected on it, the clearer it became that literacy challenges are rarely about a child “not trying hard enough.” They are often about the systems that struggle to balance:
- Individual attention
- Meaningful engagement
- Consistent tracking over time
Educators are expected to assess, intervene, document, and pass information forward – all while keeping classrooms moving and students engaged. Parents are expected to support reading at home, often without access to engaging material or clear guidance on what actually helps.
What is Readiverse?
At its core, Readiverse is designed to:
- Create custom stories based on a reader’s interests
- Allow children to record themselves reading wherever they feel comfortable
- Assess fluency and comprehension through practical review
- Identify patterns and problem areas over time
- Maintain a clear, ongoing record of progress that can be reviewed by parents and educators
Readiverse is not meant to add complexity to an already demanding system.
It is not designed to replace professional expertise, and it is not built to turn reading into another task to complete. It’s meant to support thoughtful and targeted interventions.
Becoming something more.
Readiverse began as a way for two fathers to support their own children’s literacy development. It became something more when they realized how effective the approach was, and how clearly it revealed the burden placed on educators who are doing some of the hardest work in education.
Teachers are expected to meet every child where they are, often without tools that reflect how complex literacy really is. Readiverse exists to help close that gap – quietly, practically, and with respect for the people already doing the work.
It was built because it needed to be built – and it will grow accordingly.
