Would You Open Your Home to a Hacker -- For Free?

What do you get when you mix access to Google's ultra-fast fiber network and old fashioned grass roots business ideas? Well, in this case you'd get someone living on your couch for free for three months.

This week a group calling itself the "Kansas City Hacker Homes," launched a program that calls on the good folks of Kansas City to open up their homes to entrepreneurs and developers who would live and work there for a period of three months, rent and utility free. They have to buy their own food.

The idea is to lure startup businesses and entrepreneurs to Kansas City while utilizing the high-speed, high-capacity Google Fiber service, which by the way doesn't offer business service just yet.

"If your business has any reliance on connectivity, you should pay attention to Google Fiber. The business rates for Google Fiber haven't been released yet, but you can guarantee they'll smash the current rate out of the water. Instead of paying $500 a month for 100MBps, you can already get a personal Google Fiber connection for 10 times as fast and a 7th of the cost. Online businesses have fought for years to minify their HTML, squeezing precious seconds from load times and bandwidth costs. Keep doing that. Then serve it up on Google Fiber," the group stated.

According to the group's web site: "Being a 'Hacker Host' can be extremely rewarding. You will be supporting the local business community by helping a new startup get off the ground. You will meet new and interesting entrepreneurs from all walks of life. You will be bombarded with ideas and conversations about new ways to tackle challenges. You will make new friends. The agreement between each homeowner / hacker is different, but generally you can expect the following...

What you'll be responsible for:

•Room & board

•Utilities

•Introducing the newbie to KC

•Showing Midwestern kindness to a total stranger

The Hacker-Entrepreneur staying with you is expected to:

•Pay this kindness forward

•Build a new startup business in Kansas City

•Buy their own food

At the end of 3 months, you would have the option to quit the program, take on a new startup hacker or keep your existing one, depending on how you feel. Please note: KC Hacker Homes only exists as a match-making service to pair you up with a hacker and for you to form a temporary living arrangement with them. We are not part of the 'deal' between you and the hacker in any way."

What would you do?

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This story, "Would You Open Your Home to a Hacker -- For Free?" was originally published by Network World.