Yesterday we reported that sponsors of the “Boston API Jam” were pulling out after the host, daily deal API service Sqoot, listed women as an event ‘perk’ ( See more here). After being berated with criticism by both men and women in the tech community, Sqoot’s cofounders Avand Amiri, and Mo Yehia released a Google Doc with what many thought was a half-hearted apology:
“While we thought this was a fun, harmless comment poking fun at the fact that hack-a-thons are typically male-dominated, others were offended. That was not our intention and thus we changed it.
As the two founders SHOULD have expected, their “Sorry, you’re oversensitive” apology did not appease the crowds, or their sponsors. After yanking the event off EventBrite, Sqoot released yet another apology titled “We can do better, an apology from Sqoot.” This time the pair offered more of an explanation and showed more remorse (authentic or not) for their lack of respect for women in tech community. Will it be enough to save their hackathon or their reputation? We’ll let you be the judge.
