Zach Latta
Founder & Executive Director
Hack Club
Shelburne, VT USA
“You don’t have to ask anyone for permission to make something that’s meaningful to you.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationZach Latta
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I grew up in Los Angeles, California.
I had always loved computers but the public schools I went to didn’t really offer any computer or coding classes.
My favorite game as a kid was Club Penguin and I wanted to build a website about it—my coding journey started with Googling how to build a website and following along with tutorials.
As I got older, I wanted more of an opportunity to explore my passion for computers, so I dropped out of high school, left home at 16, and moved to San Francisco, California, to become a programmer.
As a teenager, I helped create two apps that got very popular—one became the most popular game on the App Store and the other became the most popular app on the App Store.
I used the savings from those opportunities to start Hack Club to create the type of space to explore computers and coding that I wished I had when I was younger.
Eight years later, Hack Club is now an international network of teenagers who love computers and are doing anything from just starting to going very deep on their coding journeys.
Keep following my journey
Education
Did Not Complete High School
Career
Founder & Executive Director
I created a global network of programming clubs for teenagers to explore their passion for computers.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Entrepreneurship
Helping People
Day to Day
My job is to make sure Hack Club is working on the right things, has the right mission, has money in the bank, and has the right team working on those things. My days include a lot of conversations with the team regarding our roadmap, planning, and future casting. I also spend a lot of time focused on hiring and building out our team.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
If you're just starting out as a young person in any field, one of the best things you can do is find people who are respected in that field, get close with them, and meet with them regularly. Those mentors can help you through sticky situations and also be a vouch of confidence for you to others in the field. I recommend cold emailing people. One benefit of being a young person interested in a field is that people want to help you.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You have to follow a specific educational and career path in order to be successful."
Interviewed By
Changemakers
Meet the people building a better future
