For Molly Cantillon, living in a hacker's house wasn't only a dream, it was a necessity.
“I had lived in a few hacker houses before and wanted to emulate that energy,” said Cantillon, 20, co-founder of HackHer House and founding father of startup NOX. “A place where really energetic, hardcore people came together to solve problems. But every house I lived in was predominantly male. It was clear to me that I wanted to do the opposite and build an all-female hacker house that created the same dynamic but with women.”
Cantillon, who has lived in several hacker houses over time, saw a necessity for an area dedicated exclusively to women. That's why she co-founded HackHer House, the primary all-female hacker house within the San Francisco Bay Area.
“A Hacker House is a shared living space where builders and innovators come together to work on their own projects while collaborating with others,” said Jennifer Li, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and sponsor of the HackHer House. “It's a community that thrives on creativity and resource sharing, making it a cost-effective solution for people in high-rent areas like Silicon Valley, where talented founders and engineers can easily network and support each other. “
Founded by Cantillon, Zoya Garg, Anna Monaco and Anne Brandes, this house was designed to empower women in a technology world traditionally dominated by men.
“We’re trying to break stereotypes here,” said Garg, 21, a rising graduate of Stanford University. “This house is not just about living together; it’s about creating a community where women can thrive in tech.”
Located in North Beach, HackHer House was home this summer to seven women, all with the goal of starting successful corporations in technology.
Venture capital played a key role in making HackHer House possible. With financial assistance, the home offered subsidized rent so the ladies could concentrate on their projects relatively than struggle with the Bay Area's notoriously high cost of living.
“New graduate students face enormous living costs, with on-campus costs ranging from several hundred to over a thousand dollars per month,” Li said. “In the Bay Area, finding a cushty room typically starts at $2,000, and Although prices can have come down a bit, they’re still significantly higher than the remainder of the US. This reality forces many, including founders, to share a room or sleep on friends' couches simply to make ends meet.
Hacker houses are nothing recent within the Bay Area or cities like New York and London. These residential incubators function living and dealing spaces and supply a collaborative environment where tech founders and innovators can share ideas and resources. In a city known for its technological advancements, hacker houses are seen as crucial to the following wave of innovation. By providing inexpensive housing and a vibrant community, these spaces enable entrepreneurs to thrive in an otherwise highly competitive and expensive market.
Watch this video to see how Hacker House is shaping the longer term of girls in tech.
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