For Molly Cantillon, living in a pirate house was not just a dream, but a necessity.
“I've lived in a few hacker houses before and I wanted to replicate that energy,” said Cantillon, 20, co-founder of HackHer House and founder of startup NOX. “A place where hardcore and hardcore people come together to solve problems. But every house I lived in was mostly 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 had lived in several pirate houses over the years, saw the need for a space reserved exclusively for women. That's why I co-founded HackHer House, the first hacker house for women in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“The 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 Lee, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and sponsor of HackHer House. “It's a community that thrives on creativity and sharing of resources, making it a cost-effective solution for those living in high-rent areas like Silicon Valley, where talented founders and engineers can easily connect and support each other.”
Founded by Cantillon, Zoya Garg, Anna Monaco, and Anne Brands, the company was founded to empower women in the traditionally male-dominated world of technology.
“We're trying to break stereotypes here,” said Garg, 21, a senior at Stanford University. “This home is not just about living together, it is about creating a community where women can thrive in technology.”
Located in North Beach, HackHer House was home this summer to seven women, all of whom share the goal of launching successful ventures in technology.
Venture capital played a major role in making HackHer House possible. With financial support, the home provided subsidized rent, allowing the women to focus on their projects rather than face the high costs of living in the Bay Area.
“New graduate students face exorbitant living expenses, with campus costs running into the hundreds of dollars 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 much higher than the rest of the U.S. This reality forces many, including the founders, to share rooms.” Or lying on friends' couches just to make ends meet.”
Pirate houses are nothing new to the Bay Area or cities like New York and London. These incubators act 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 advancement, pirate houses are seen as important for driving the next wave of innovation. By providing affordable housing and a vibrant community, these spaces enable entrepreneurs to thrive in an expensive, expensive market.
Watch this video to see how Hacker House is shaping the future of women in technology.
