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Weekly Tech Recap: What Sweetgreen's CEO Learned This Week

Weekly Tech Recap: What Sweetgreen's CEO Learned This Week

September 11, 2021

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This week, Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman walked back remarks he made on a social media post that garnered a lot of backlash. The now-deleted LinkedIn post particularly irked a lot of people over his remarks about the COVID-related mortality rate among those who are overweight — or fat-shaming, as some people said.

Neman's new post on LinkedIn this week took a different tone.

"Words matter and the words I chose were insensitive and oversimplified a very complex issue that is impacted by larger socioeconomic factors," wrote Neman, adding that he promised to "learn forward" as the startup he leads is poised to go public in the near future.

😬 John Pham's orthodontics startup InBrace is positioning itself to compete with Align Technology and Smile Direct Club as a "Zoom effect" is fueling a wave of dental procedures.

🔋 Looking to close a $1.6 billion deal in the first quarter of 2022, Energy Vault, a startup that uses gravity to store renewable energy, is going public following its merger.

💰 HoneyBee is joining the growing number of fintech companies that offer "rainy day loans." But the L.A.-based startup is particularly interested in helping women of color get back on their feet.

📱 Piper Rockelle, the social media influencer who's drawn controversy over her images, launched her new web-based app, Rare, this week that allows creators to promote and monetize exclusive content like photos and videos.

🎶 A former TikTok employee found a way to tap into the creator scene by giving music makers an easy tool to make tunes through his new app Mayk.it.

🔍 Ferret.ai acts like a search engine that makes it easier for its clients to see publicly available -- but difficult to find -- legal and criminal histories of contacts in their immediate network. But even investors have concerns about the app's ethics.

🎮 Mobile game giant Jam City is courting Hollywood after its acquisition of Canadian gaming company Ludia for $165 million this week.

💕 David Park, an ex-Wall Street trader and Raya engineer, saw social gaming as the new way to date, so he created Kippo — a dating app for gamers.

Need a podcast recommendation this weekend? Here are some new pods we have for you:

🎙 Julie Wroblewski had her dream job leading a venture capital investment strategy. With her focus on caregiving innovation, she saw ways to grow in the care economy and became the co-founder of Magnify Ventures. Hear her journey on LA Venture. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

🎙 When she was a kid, Jenna Lyons discovered her passion by sewing her own clothes. The reaction Lyons got from her classmates gave her the confidence she needed that eventually led her to be the fashion icon she is today. Listen to her journey on Behind Her Empire as she worked at J.Crew for almost 30 years then started her own beauty brand. Listen on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

💉 In a 7-0 vote by the LAUSD this week, students 12 and older must be vaccinated to attend classes in-person. Students must get their first dose by Nov. 21 and their second dose by Dec. 19.

💉 President Biden announced on Thursday a sweeping vaccine mandate that would affect as many as 100 million workers. So, who exactly has to get vaccinated in L.A.? And what about mask mandates? Reporter Keerthi Vedantam has some answers to your most pressing workplace mandate questions.

🤖 According to a Brookings Institution report, Los Angeles is emerging as one of the nation's top hubs for "early adopter" artificial intelligence businesses.

🗳 With the recall election days away, workers from big tech are overwhelmingly giving their support to Gavin Newsom.

⚖️ This week, dot.LA spoke with Berkeley Law professor Catherine Fisk about what the overturning of Proposition 22 could mean for the gig economy.

Check out these upcoming Southern California events in the tech and startup scene in September:

Is your organization having an event? Let us feature it in our newsletter! Email [email protected].

Throw me feedback, compliments or questions on this newsletter at [email protected] or on Twitter at @rungomez.