An Entrepreneurial Mindset for Literary Success

Afarin Bellisario, ScD ’80, SM ’90, has always been fascinated by the human condition.

“For me, it has always been that the technology we develop has to do something good for people,” Bellisario says of her background in technology, which has included positions at Intel, Analog Devices, and MIT.

Bellisario’s interest in people and their ways of life has led her to pursue diverse passions, both at MIT and beyond. She recently published her first novel, Silenced Whispers, which tells the story of an Iranian Muslim woman as her country modernizes while struggling to maintain its independence in the early twentieth century.

Focusing on business and technology

Both Bellisario’s foray into the literary world and the content of her novel have been shaped by her unique background. An Iranian native, Bellisario came to MIT in the 1970s and received her ScD in Mechanical Engineering from the Institute. She then worked for Bolt Beranek and Newman, which eventually became Raytheon BBN. At this job, she realized that she wanted to work in more of a customer-focused role than a technology-focused one.

“I always wanted that customer touch and business touch and to be more involved with the business decision-making,” says Bellisario.

Bellisario then came back to MIT, this time going to MIT Sloan for her business degree to make herself a competitive candidate for business positions.

“It was very eye-opening for me because I learned that there is not a single answer to a problem,” comments Bellisario. “As an engineer, you have the [single] solution in mind when you approach a problem. And in business, you’ve got to understand the pain points. You’ve got to understand the needs.”

Bellisario put this perspective to good use after graduating from MIT Sloan. She worked in several business positions at technology companies while staying involved at MIT. In addition to working in the MIT Technology Licensing Office, Bellisario has mentored student and alumni entrepreneurs through several MIT programs. She is currently a mentor for the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program—which provides student entrepreneurs with funding and mentorship for their ventures—its sister program Explorer, and MIT Venture Mentoring Service (VMS).

Bellisario finds herself inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the student entrepreneurs she mentors. She appreciates her role in helping to lead them to “aha moments,” when students make discoveries about their entrepreneurial goals.

“That ‘aha moment’ is the best,” says Bellisario. “They discover it by themselves. I’m only a conduit. I’m only a catalyst. But that makes me very happy.”

Inspiration for the novel

The focus on technology in Bellisario’s career and work with MIT helped inspire her to think about how technology and modernization changes people and nations, and ultimately write Silenced Whispers. She has always loved writing and had published several essays and op-eds prior to writing the novel. Also an avid traveler, she often thinks about the role of technology in different places, including Iran.

“I thought about how Iran became modernized and how this modernization created a chasm, a division between the people. There are some people who wanted to stay traditionalist and then some people who wanted [the country] to become super modern,” Bellisario explains.

A historical fiction, the novel centers on Gohar, a married Iranian Muslim woman, who joins forces to modernize the country and falls in love with Aslan, a Russian Christian man. Set against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Iran in 1911, the novel takes place in a setting where a romance with someone of a different cultural background was especially taboo.

The novel explores themes such as morality and unity while introducing the reader to different aspects of Iranian culture during the time period. The novel uses Persian words and phrases as well as describes different religious traditions that were followed in the early twentieth century.

“To me, historical fiction is humanizing history,” says Bellisario. “So if you want to humanize history, you have to take people in that world.”

An entrepreneurial venture

Bellisario went through a lengthy process to get the book published. She applied the same entrepreneurial mindset that she teaches to her MIT mentees to this process.

After Bellisario had written a draft of her manuscript, she gave it to “beta” readers and incorporated their feedback before pitching it to different publishers. When doing these pitches, she decided to treat the novel as if it were a business venture that she was pitching to investors. Thinking about the novel like a business venture led her to consider factors such as the novel’s intended audience and the reader’s point of view when giving her pitches.

“This is a venture. We’ve got to make it work,” says Bellisario of her approach to her novel. “So pivoting is an option. Failure is an option.”

Bellisario eventually decided to pivot and publish the novel herself instead of working with an outside publishing company. As a first-time novelist, she worked with mentors and editors to polish the story before publication.

This hard work has paid off. Since its publication in April, Silenced Whispers has received several positive reviews from professional critics. The book has also received an honorable mention from the New York Book Festival.

The importance of reflection

Bellisario’s novel would not have come to fruition if not for the time she spent reflecting on the human condition and the role that technology plays in our lives.

She encourages MIT Sloan students to take advantage of their time at the school and reflect critically on important issues, as well learn from their peers as much as they learn from their professors.

“My advice would be to learn and then to take a pause, to think and take that thinking with you to the workforce when you leave,” says Bellisario.