The only prerequisite to being in this House is to be an optimist. People are dreaming big. Every girl brings something really unique and isn't afraid to speak very boldly and to act very boldly. If you want to make yourself something that you are not currently, you're going to have to seriously push yourself outside of your comfort zone. I think in large, what it looks like is identifying what matters to you, what goals you have, and then pushing you towards those metrics of success. Meet Molly Cantillon, Anna Monaco, Zoya Garg, and Anne Brandes, four entrepreneurs in their twenties who live and work together in a hacker house in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. They share a common goal: building successful ventures of their own. In San Francisco, specifically, there is just an outsized amount of passion for technology and AI, and after experiencing what it felt like to be here, I think that there really is no better place to build an AI native

company, and also to work with people that are equally as like-minded and focused and passionate. Hacker House is a community living place where most of the people at the house are builders, hackers, and they spend time working on their own ideas, at the same time engaging with other people's ideas. Of course, it's happening the most prevalent in the Bay area, but I also know there are a few hacker houses in, let's say, New York City or London. But this house isn't just any hacker house, it's exclusively for female founders. A summer project turned into a powerhouse of innovation, giving women the space to grow in an industry still dominated by men. There are hacker houses all over the Bay area. This is the first time, and I'm pretty comfortable saying this, that an all-female group has come together to do this. And it's not a stretch to say that it's also been more challenging, probably for us to get sponsors, right.

Like we had to knock on more doors. Most actually, 90% of the people that agreed to be sponsors of this house were women. When we talk about instilling different norms in each other, you know, being athletic, working really long hours, having integrity, it's not theoretically something that we think would make a good person. It's an imperative for someone who is taking on this kind of risk and who is asking other people to assume this risk also. So it's been a pleasure to be around so many responsible women who want to take this kind of bet. The gender ratio is a problem out here, and I'm just really excited to see, you know, things like Hacker House come together because at the end of the day, like, you know, we need more women out here and we need more of that perspective. I think hacker houses are special because of like that, like motivation you can get from the people that you surround yourself with.

And so it is nice to, like, be surrounded by people who are putting as much in as you are in San Francisco. Hacker houses are more popular than ever due to the AI boom, with more than ten of them in the city. These co-living spaces empower founders and techies to network and raise millions. Jennifer Li is one of the VCs sponsoring this hacker house. To her, it was important to support women in tech. I love investing in early-stage companies as much as I love investing MVP. I thought of as an MVP to test out an idea, and I just really loved the speed that they put it in action and bring this group of people together. In the hacker house, there are seven women, four full-time and three part-time residents. They share one goal: to build the next big thing. Some are creating startups, interning at major companies like Google and Apple, or pausing their studies. Others, like Cantillon, have chosen to drop out of college to focus entirely on their vision.

I run a company called Knox. We're building the world's most proactive personal assistant, and what that means is we're building someone who can understand your needs before they even arise by reading things like your text messages, your emails, by just sitting on top of every stream of information, every notification that you're getting in your life. Cantillion walked us through a live demo of her application showcasing the innovative features she's developing. Okay. Let's see. Turn it up. Hey. What's up? Hey, Knox. What's up? Hey, Molly. Just making sure everything is set for your big day with CNBC. I've got the reminder and email ready for you. Need anything else? Maybe some last minute prep tips? Well, actually, you're on camera right now, so do you have anything to say to the crew? That's that's listening to us. Hey CNBC crew. Excited to be part of this segment. Molly's got an amazing start up with you, Knox.

And I'm here to make sure she's always one step ahead. If you need any help or have any questions, just let me know. For the 20-year-old, it's all or nothing. I think that this is like exactly the perfect timing with my story. I just don't want to regret it. Right. This is the one thing that I cannot regret. While the women pay rent, it's subsidized by a $10,000 investment from Jennifer Li and Yoko Li. This makes their rent more affordable than typical rates in San Francisco. The venture capital ecosystem in San Francisco is a very generous one. I think venture capitalists really understand the value of long-term relationships. And this is exactly how you start one. You help someone form like this amazing community over their summer, and then you invest in their series. Living in San Francisco is costly. The city ranks as the third most expensive U.S. city for renters, with average one-bedroom rent hitting $3,170 this month, a 5.3% increase from the

previous month. By comparison, the national average rent for a one-bedroom is $1,534, up 1.6% from last year. The Bay area, if you want to find a very comfortable living situation, probably start with $2000 per room to begin with. I think the price came down a little, but again, for the right setup at the right locations, it's still pretty expensive compared to the rest of the US. The Bay area is notoriously expensive and is also at odds with the fact that it's the heart of where innovation and tech is happening. And one thing the women all agree on, being in San Francisco gives them a distinct advantage for innovation. I ran into Sam Altman. He gave me some of his time. I approached him twice. He allowed me to approach him the second time, which I thought was very kind. He gave me his email, and now we've been going back and forth, and I think that's like a little microcosm

of San Francisco. People are actually really easy to reach. There are a lot of smart people, but it's not a very big city. So you sort of continue to run into each other. And if you keep on going, people will give you a shot. I just feel so lucky to be one of the hackers in the house because it's such a unique opportunity, I think, beyond the house that we're living in, beyond their sponsors, just like being around these girls is such a unique opportunity that, I don't know, 15-year-old me just would never believe that I am. I just met my match in like seven other women.

Inside The First All-Female Hacker House In San Francisco

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