For Molly Cantillon, living in a hacker house wasn’t just a dream, it was a necessity.
“I had lived in a few hacker houses before and wanted to recreate that energy,” said Cantillon, 20, co-founder of HackHer House and founder of startup NOX. ) speaks. “It was a place where really energetic, hardcore people came together to solve problems. But the house I lived in was mostly male. For me, doing the opposite and creating the same dynamic with everyone. It was obvious that I wanted to build a women’s hackerhouse.” But I’m with women. ”
After living in several hacker houses over the years, Cantillon saw the need for a women-only space. That’s why she co-founded HackHer House, the San Francisco Bay Area’s first all-female hacker house.
“Hacker House is a shared community where builders and innovators come together to work on unique projects while collaborating with others,” said Jennifer Lee, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and sponsor of Hacker House. “It’s a living space.” “This is 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 connect, and We can support each other.”
Founded by Cantillon, Zoya Garg, Anna Monaco, and Anne Brandes, the company was designed to empower women in the traditionally male-dominated world of technology.
“We’re trying to break stereotypes here,” said Garg, 21, a rising senior at Stanford University. “The purpose of this house is not just to live together, but to create a community where women can thrive in the technology field.”
HackHer House in North Beach was home to seven women this summer. All share the goal of starting a successful venture in the technology field.
Venture capital played a key role in making HackHer House a reality. With financial support, the home had subsidized rent, allowing the women to focus on their projects instead of the Bay Area’s notoriously high cost of living.
“New graduates face a daunting cost of living, with campus fees ranging from the low hundreds to over a thousand dollars a month,” Lee said. “In the Bay Area, finding a comfortable room typically starts at $2,000, and while prices may have come down a bit, they are still quite expensive compared to other parts of the United States. This reality has made many, including our founders… People are forced to share a room or sit on a friend’s couch just to make ends meet. ”
hacker house No one is familiar with the Bay Area or cities like New York or London. These live-in incubators serve as homes and workspaces, providing a collaborative environment where technology founders and innovators can share ideas and resources. In a city known for its technological advances, Hackerhouse is seen as critical to driving the next wave of innovation. These spaces enable entrepreneurs to succeed in a cutthroat and expensive market by providing affordable housing and vibrant communities.
Watch this video to see how Hacker House is shaping the future of women in tech.
