A student-run hacker house at WashU for people building startups. Live with other builders, learn from mentors who've done it, and make building fun.
Proposed as a WashU Living Learning Community for Fall 2027. Hackathons and events are open to builders across St. Louis.
Disruptio is a student-run initiative with two parts: a house where WashU builders live together, and a community that reaches across campus and into St. Louis.
A Living Learning Community of about 20 WashU students who live together and are building startups, or want to.
Hackathons, retreats, and mentorship open to any WashU student, plus events with founders, investors, and builders across St. Louis.
Together, they give builders:
WashU has plenty of students building things, but they're scattered across dorms, majors, and class years, and most of them never meet. Putting them under one roof changes that. When the people you live with are also building, you find co-founders in the kitchen, get feedback at midnight, and keep going when it gets hard.
We're proposing the house as a Living Learning Community through WashU Residential Life, with a faculty sponsor from the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Here's what the house runs:
The house is for WashU students, but its impact reaches the whole campus and the city.
We pitched Disruptio to the Skandalaris Center and its National Council.
We put the full $2,000 prize into the community.
A weekend of building with mentors and a fireside chat from a WashU founder.
In partnership with the Skandalaris Center.
You have a side project, a startup, or a research idea you want to turn into a company, and you want people around you who take it as seriously as you do.
You haven't built anything yet, but you want to. You'll find teammates, ideas, and people a few steps ahead who will help you get going.
You're at another school or a local startup. The house is for WashU students, but our events and network are open to you.
The on-campus house for WashU students is the heart of the project and our focus right now. It's the first step toward a broader goal: making St. Louis a place where builders stay and build.
We're early, and some details aren't settled yet. Here's where things stand.
Move-in is planned for Fall 2027. Hackathons, retreats, and other events start before then.
The house is WashU campus housing, through Residential Life. We'll share the specific house once it's approved.
About 20 WashU students live together as a Living Learning Community, with events open to campus and St. Louis.
Housing would go through the regular WashU housing process. We'll share costs before anyone is asked to commit to anything.
The house is open to continuing WashU students: rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Signing up is the first step.
Residents take part in a retreat each semester and monthly programs, and help run a campus hackathon each semester. Signing up commits you to nothing yet.
In 1904, St. Louis was booming. The World's Fair brought global attention. Washington University built Francis Field and the Brookings Quadrangle to host the Olympics. The city was at the center of the old economy, thriving with industry, culture, and ambition.
Today looks different. While Washington University has grown from a regional "streetcar college" into a world-leading research institution, the city hasn't shared in that success. There's no startup culture, no innovation ecosystem, and no gravitational pull keeping talent here.
The brain drain is real. Sam Altman and Jack Dorsey both grew up in St. Louis and left to build elsewhere. The people who stayed, like Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, who built LaunchCode here, show what's possible when builders invest in the city. We want more of the second story.
We can't replicate Silicon Valley overnight, but we can start the flywheel, and it starts at WashU. The house builds density on campus, and open events connect that talent to St. Louis. The ecosystem starts as a bridge between St. Louis and coastal risk capital. Over time, ventures that start and scale here will create capital and density in St. Louis itself.
In San Francisco, New York, and Boston, building startups is fun, social, and cool. At WashU, it's often academic. We need a space where building is joyful, not just rigorous.
Here, the moment anyone gets traction, the question is "How do I get to the coast?" We want an ecosystem that makes staying the obvious choice: lower costs, strong universities, and growing density.
Our first campus-wide hackathon, open to all WashU students. Sign up to hear when the date is set.
Weekends of focused building with mentors, every semester. Sign up to hear about the next one.
A Living Learning Community (LLC) is a group of WashU students who live together in campus housing around a shared interest, with a faculty sponsor and programs through Residential Life. Ours is for students building startups.
No. Hackathons, retreats, and mentorship are open to any WashU student, and many of our events are open to builders across St. Louis.
No. Plenty of people find their idea, or their co-founders, by being around other builders. Come curious.
No. Startups need designers, researchers, people who can sell, and people who can figure things out. If you want to learn to build, you'll be surrounded by people who can help.
Yes. First-years can join events now, and starting early is a big advantage. You can apply to live in the house as a rising sophomore.
Disruptio was started by and is run by WashU students. We've proposed the house as a Living Learning Community through Residential Life, with a faculty sponsor from the Skandalaris Center. Approval is in progress.
The house is WashU housing, so living there is for WashU students. Our events are open to builders across St. Louis, including students at other schools.
We're building the first group of members now. Tell us what you're working on, or what you want to work on, and whether you'd like to live in the house.
Sign up