Georgia Tech Alumnus Wins ‘The 1% Club’ $100,000 Grand Prize

Without using a zero, what is the lowest possible four-digit number you can make in which the digits add up to 18? 

That’s the question that stood between Georgia Tech alumnus Austin Huguenard and the $100,000 grand prize on Fox’s The 1% Club.  

“You have no idea how relieved I was” at the question, the computer science graduate said. 

Huguenard was one of two players remaining from a field of 100 contestants. Questions challenge players’ logic and reasoning, whittling the field as each fallen player adds $1,000 to the pot, and the final question is one that only an estimated 1% of the public can answer. 

Players can split the final prize money, so when Huguenard locked in his answer of 1,179 with time to spare on the 30-second clock, he knew he had secured at least a share of the prize. It was revealed that his counterpart missed the question, making Huguenard the first to claim the full prize in the two-season run of the American version of the show.  

Not a “traditional trivia buff,” Huguenard’s proclivity for pattern recognition and logical problem-solving gave him the confidence to try out for the show. Over 15 rounds, the questions grew increasingly difficult. But, as players began to drop out, the Alpharetta, Georgia, native stayed calm and trusted the training he had received as a Tech student.  

“The 1% question was especially aligned with the way Georgia Tech helps teach you to think and to approach these difficult problems,” he said. “With these optimization problems, you have several constraints that must be satisfied while finding the best solution. This comes up in algorithms, discrete mathematics, and combinatorics classes. The clock is another factor that I felt prepared for because of the high-pressure moments I faced here." 

The pressure of being on the show paled in comparison to the nerve-racking nature of keeping his victory a secret.  

“It’s something I wanted to scream from the mountaintops and celebrate with everyone, and that was probably the most difficult part of the entire experience,” he said. Huguenard got that chance when the episode aired in mid-July as he hosted a watch party for his family and friends.  

He is now preparing to move to New York City to start his career as a software engineering analyst at Deloitte. While most of the prize money is headed for long-term savings, he’ll use some to furnish his apartment with the essentials as well as an espresso machine and baking tools. For now, baking is a hobby, and he says game show viewers shouldn’t expect to see him on the Ultimate Baking Championship any time soon.