The hapless founders listed "women" as one of the hackathon's perks and continued, "Need another beer? Let one of our friendly (female) event staff get that for you." The comment rocketed them to Internet fameballdom as they endured intensive heckling on Twitter and became the subject of a ReadWriteWeb story and posts on The Next Web and the Boston-based tech blog BostInno.

The new apology, which has nine comments on the company Posterous, is more self-effacing than the terse response issued by the company yesterday, which drew criticism because it seemed to be offloading responsibility.

Sqoot writes:

When we put together the original event page, we used language that we now realize was reckless and hurt efforts to diversify gender in tech. We immediately and deservedly received an enormous backlash. While we aimed to call attention to the male-dominated tech world through humor and intended to be inclusive, the gravity of our wording was just the opposite. Our words completely undermined our intentions and went further to harm the world we're trying to have a positive impact on.
We apologize unequivocally to our sponsors, customers, friends and family, and community. We'd like to thank everyone for being so outspoken. As a young startup, we learned a lot today and are better people and a better company for it.

"We're a small startup trying to do big things. Sometimes we trip and fall. This is one of those times. In hindsight, our language was reckless & immature," Sqoot cofounder, former Wall Streeter and Betabeat contributor Mo Yehia wrote in an email. "Please accept our apology & help us turn this negative into a positive." We're reminded of Louis Armstrong, who said: "If you have to ask, you'll never know."

Meanwhile, Sqoot still has not apologized for the egregious spelling error in the "massages" perk, in which hackathon participants were urged to "take a brake."

Mr. Yehia. (Twitter)

Remember Mo Yehia, founder of the improbably-named Sqoot.com, the self-identified "anti-preneur" who scribbled some of his thoughts on Startupland in last week's Betabeat? Mr. Yehia got a boost of publicity for his op-ed, but he and his cofounder got way more attention out of a faux pas today that caused them to receive many angry Twitter messages.

The pair included a tonally-incorrect joke in a call for an event called the Boston API Jam, and a source tells us the joke cost the Sqooters at least two sponsors. While most of the event perks were inoffensive, if a bit bro-y—real food instead of pizza, a day's gym pass, massages—one so-called "perk" got them in trouble. "Women: Need another beer? Let one of our friendly (female) event staff get that for you."

The joke ruffled many a feather. "That sounds like the douchiest gathering of douchebags on the eastern seaboard," tweeted web developer Kristen Grote. "This API Jam page is incredibly offensive. 'Featuring' women, booze & massages is just the kind of popped-collar BS we need less of," tweeted Boston-based web developer Pete Karl II. One source told Betabeat the joke caused Heroku and Apigee to pull their sponsorship of the event.

Sqoot has posted a mea cupla and has spent the last hour tweeting "We're sorry" at its detractors. "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," the cofounders wrote. "That was not our intention and thus we changed it."

True, hackathons rarely include women. But there are usually a good dozen at the General Assembly codeathons. Sure, you're an antipreneur trying to host an anti-hackathon. But the hackathon call reads like Mr. Yehia forgot to post it on the secret man-only Internet.

Mr. Yehia called it "a complete, unintended mess" and said the founders plan to write a blog post with a more elaborate explanation.

UPDATE: ReadWriteWeb reports the company lost four sponsors total.

Mr. Yehia.

Mo Yehia is co-founder of Sqoot, a daily deal API that helps publishers monetize. He’s lesser known for stints at Sparkle Buggy Car Wash, Cracker Barrel, and Lehman Brothers. He’s kind of a big deal.

It finally hit me: “I drive a Beemer but make less than a McDonald's manager (hourly), my hair is thinning, sunlight hurts my eyes, and my Mom says I’ve become an asshole.” It was time to leave. I grew a pair and left my job on Wall Street, scared shitless of what was to come. I moved as far from New York City as possible and spent the next year unlearning everything it taught me. I was so brainwashed by my Vineyard Vines-wearing peers (when is a sperm whale on your belt ever OK?), that I didn't know what I wanted anymore or where to start. From the outside looking in, entrepreneurship was as foreign as Japanese.

Through a series of random, cosmic events (and mind-boggling hustle), I met Andrew Warner in Buenos Aires, Avand Amiri in Boulder, Chris Stanchak in Philly, and Aniq Rahman in New York City. I wanted to be like them. So, for the next six months, I drank the proverbial Kool-Aid and marinated in just about everything startup. I moved back to New York, finagled my way into the tech scene, shook hands, kissed babies, and promptly began a strict three-pronged regiment to combat my hair loss.

It took six years for the novelty of Wall Street to wear off, and six weeks for the uncertainty of startup life to wear on. Without further adieu: a rant on the transition into and observations of NYC tech. Warning, this is my first post, anywhere, ever.

Help Me, I'm Poor.

Two years ago, I left a six-figure job. I thought, "WTF can $400/mo get me?"

1. A non-reserved seat at a communal table at GA, so I can act as if I'm not distracted by wide-eyed visitors who cluster together to learn "Digital M&A Secrets: How to Position Your Startup For Acquisition."

2. Everything I need in Argentina. While vetting ideas w/ potential customers stateside, I lived next to the zoo (BIG mistake), ate $1 empanadas, took $0.25 subways, & learned polo (bonus: no one in Buenos Aires is fat).

Where my Arabs at?

As one of four Arabs in the NYC tech scene, I'm more likely to sell you shawarma than software. Women are just as scarce. Introducing... “Layla,” the first all-Arab, all-women accelerator. Would you like hummus with that?

Entreprewhat?

I hate the "e" word. It's hard to spell and can refer to Divya at Dunkin' or Drew at DropBox. I just don't trust words w/ that many vowels. Starter isn't much better. It's a defunct brand that went from hero to zero.

Money Ain't a Thang.

No business model, no problem (read: real fucking problem). For a year, we weren't making money. So, we raised prices (not money). Novel right? PS, we gained customers. "You have customers, they pay you money… you get profit!” - DHH

Banker Turned Human.

I traded in lunches at Del Frisco's & late nights in Meatpacking for lunches at Russ & Daughters and late nights in Lower East Side. I have a legit beard, well-formed gut, & exclusively wear tees. Jesus, I might as well ride my fixie to work (read: my apartment), move to Brooklyn, and get Pabst & American Apparel as proud sponsors.

Sick Hat Trick.

I accomplished the TechStars hat-trick: three rejections from three cities. When they finally succumbed to our incessant bombardment and accepted us, we turned them down. Touche. "In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength, but through persistence." - Buddha

Listen to Your Heart.

It takes 7 jobs to truly find something you're passionate about. In the meantime, most of us shlog through life. Happiness is elusive (like hypercolor shirts & Norwegian gnomes). If at first you don't find it, don't settle. "The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary." - Nassim N Taleb