Many of aspiring tech entrepreneurs live, work, eat and sleep in the Bay Area's so called "hacker hostels."

These communal housing for programmers, designers and scientists in their 20s has turned into a commercial enterprise. 

Establishments – $40 a night – are not so different from crowded apartments that cater to immigrants. But many tenants are here not so much for the cheap rent as for the camaraderie and the intellectual stimulation.

"If you're wanting to do something to change the world and make it a fundamentally better place, you need to be around the right people," says a tenant to The New York Times.

Airbnb, the popular Web rental service for apartments or single rooms, has helped commercialize this idea.