Often at the forefront of innovation in science and technology, Georgia Tech is again home to innovation in the cybersecurity and technology world — this time through a student’s initiative.
Yamil Quispe Silva, a senior studying computer science at Georgia Tech, announced last week that he is bringing a “hacker house” to Georgia Tech.
A hacker house is just that — a house where aspiring tech entrepreneurs and innovators collaborate with one another and feed off the community’s energy. Quispe hopes the Georgia Tech hacker house will serve as a physical space for innovation and technology.
Just five days after the announcement of the hacker house, Quispe wrote that he had already seen over 190 people interested and had signed up to fill the 20 spots the house would have, with some people even signing up for the Fall 2026 waitlist.
“The goal: surround yourself with builders, go all-in on your startup, and find PMF [product-market fit] before graduating,” Quispe wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Quispe has never been one to shy away from starting something new.
A native of Peru, Quispe has long had the spirit of entrepreneurship. At age 14, he started his own business, HighShoes, which would go on to dropship over 500 sneakers in the next two and a half years. That same year, he founded a basketball clothing company, followed a few years later by a recycling financial company and language learning company, continuing to build his experience in entrepreneurship at a young age.
Now, he hopes that he can surround himself with others who carry that same spirit of entrepreneurship and help him achieve the original goal set when he came to the U.S. for college.
“I came to the U.S. with the goal of creating a company and creating value,” Quispe said. “I believe the U.S. was the place to do it.”
Quispe explained he knew he needed to learn the process of creating a company here in the U.S. and that it would be different than it was in Peru.
After getting experience in startups and co-ops, he found himself doing internships in the Bay Area — the heart of tech entrepreneurship.
“I spent all of my summers in the Bay Areas working for startups and tech companies, and I met a lot of people who were part of hacker houses. They invited me to visit them, work with them in their houses, and the energy that I saw and experienced — and only for a few days — those hacker houses were just unbelievable,” Quispe said. “So I wanted to bring that to where I spend the most time, which is in college in Atlanta.”
After identifying an inactive fraternity on campus with space for such a project, the house owner struck a deal last month to make it official. With a few apps he is working on himself, Quispe is excited to get the ball rolling and “live and work with ambitious builders” of tomorrow.
Applications for the hacker house close this Friday, April 4.
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