Nestled in the corner of 6th Street sits a recently repurposed two-story house. What was once home to the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity is now a hub for innovators, creators and self-starters as the first-ever collegiate hacker house.
“The goal for this house is to become a home for any builder. Whenever you walk into this house, you see people working hard on their own goals and projects, and I want this to reflect the entrepreneurial spirit of GT students,” said Yamil Quispe, CS ‘25, the house’s founder.
Quispe was inspired by hacker houses he had visited in New York and San Francisco and wanted to bring the same opportunity to Tech students. While the houses in those tech hubs focused on more established professionals, Quispe wanted to create one for a college environment where students can balance classes while building projects.
“I wanted to bring that same energy that everyone has after an internship. You are motivated by other people — maybe older people — doing well in their careers and pushing towards their goals,” Quispe stated. “When I came back to college, I wanted to recreate that feeling, so that whenever people step into this house, they get energized, inspired by others and move closer to their goals. That’s the environment I wanted to create.”
Quispe came up with the idea in January of this year and signed the lease for the house with his own funds in March. He immediately opened resident applications before the Spring 2025 semester ended, and over 200 students submitted applications and scheduled interviews.
Quispe and the advisors looked for three things when interviewing applicants: how much they wanted to contribute to the startup community, how much they valued creation and what projects they had worked on in the past. Thirteen undergraduate students were ultimately accepted to reside in the house.
On one wall, canvases carry motivational reminders. The open floor living room allows residents to hold demo nights, hackathons and visiting speakers.
“For demo nights, anyone at school with a project can come here and demo their work. You don’t have to be a resident, and it inspires people who are just starting and want to get feedback,” Quispe described.
Past the living room is a workroom set up with a conference-style table and desktops at every seat. The entire back wall is lined with bookshelves, and a whiteboard hangs on the left showing remnants of brainstorming notes. Couches sit towards the back of the room, where we saw one resident sleeping after a late-night work session.
“Everyone here got accepted because they had something to work on, but during the semester, with classes, it’s harder. So we have resident weekly meetings where the first 20 minutes, everyone goes around and says what they got done this week. We also have work sessions every Tuesday and Wednesday with residents and friends of friends. We’re not expecting big results every week, but it’s a public check-in that pushes you if you see others working.”
Quispe explained that residents are working on a wide range of projects. Some are building consumer apps like anonymous messaging and productivity tools that are already on the App Store. Others are researching NLP and language disorders to see how AI can support speech.
There are also projects in developer tools, like backend database software. On the creative side, some residents are making music and already have thousands of listeners on Spotify. It’s a mix of tech, research, and creative work, all centered around building and experimenting. The house is specifically designed to encourage collaboration regardless of what discipline a resident focuses on.
“Hosting events where people showcase their projects is important because it encourages other people to join you or discuss ideas in the same space. That’s why the demo nights are really important for us, and we try to keep it fun, casual and open for everyone,” Quispe said.
To the left of the living room sits an open space with several floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard. There, students can enjoy the bar, a game of ping pong, play music and hang out with each other.
“We take our residents’ birthdays very seriously. For instance, yesterday we threw a party for one of them. He chose the theme and music, and we played board games. It’s all a part of building a community and really making the house feel like a home, ” Quispe continued.
Out in the backyard sits a blue basketball court and a small shed to the left. The residents plan to start a “founder basketball” tournament as a way to meet a co-founder or a friend to work on a project in an informal setting. The shed will also be transformed into a hardware lab where students can engineer physical products.
The house has 10 bedrooms, and residents can choose between single or shared spaces. Every member is expected to contribute to the organization’s development, as well as an officer role from content to lead to sponsorships. There is also an advisory board for applicants who cannot live in the house.
“There were people who weren’t able to apply because they already had a lease for the school year, or they had already graduated. Our sponsorship lead, Aditya Gupta[CS ‘25] created the artificial intelligence club, AI@GT, and was the president of Startup Exchange, so he had experience with starting a club and raising funds, and he’s helping us with raising funds through partnerships,” said Quispe.
Quispe will be moving to San Francisco after he graduates in December; however, he will still be overseeing the house from the West Coast and plans to transfer presidential duties over to another student before he leaves.
The house is currently at full capacity through the full school year, with a few residents set to graduate in spring 2026. Application for resident opening will open at the start of spring 2026 for new members to move in during the fall.
GT Hacker House joins the list of thousands in the country, but for now, it remains the only one tailored to college life. With renovations, partnerships and events in the works, Quispe aims to continue growing the house to become the epicenter of a network of hacker houses on college campuses in the future.