Who Took Home the Prize at This Year’s dot.LA Award Ceremony?

David Shultz

David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.

Who Took Home the Prize at This Year’s dot.LA Award Ceremony?

Giorgio Trovato

The 2022 dot.LA Summit closed on Friday afternoon with an award ceremony on the main stage. Each winner of the 2022 dot.LA Start Up Award received a one-hundred percent (100%) discount off WeWork All Access membership fees for three (3) months for three (3) individuals, subject to the WeWork All Access Terms and Conditions.


Best Rising Startup

​Winner: Jadu

Jadu is building an augmented reality game world with a twist. Known as the mirrorverse, the AR gambit juxtaposes virtual game elements over top of real world landscapes. The items and the content within the mirrorverse are NFTs owned by the community. The award was accepted by Isaiah Chavous, who reminded the audience, “The app comes out next month.”

The nominees:

  • Jadu
  • Ettitude
  • Afterparty
  • Kurvana
  • Dr. Squatch Soap Co

Social Equity Award

Winner: WeeCare

WeeCare is an online portal that helps connect parents and caregivers with local child care options. Daycare providers can get certified and sign up on the platform and parents can filter and browse through nearby providers. WeeCare handles enrollment, payment processing, and other managerial tasks to help providers spend less time running their business and more time with the kids. Jessica Chang, CEO and Co-Founder, accepted the award. “We’re all about our mission of making childcare accessible for all,” she said.

The nominees:

  • WeeCare
  • Sola Impact
  • SpectrumAi
  • ERI
  • Marker Learning

​Rising Entre​preneur

Winner: Malte Kramer, Founder & CEO of Luxury Presence

Luxury Presence is a website design company specifically for the real estate industry. In addition to creating beautiful websites, Luxury Presence also offers backend insights and analytics designed to help brokers and agents grow their business.

The nominees:

  • Malte Kramer, Founder & CEO of Luxury Presence
  • Connor Ellison, CEO & Founder, POGR
  • Michael Le, Co-Founder, Joystick
  • Jonathan Gray, Founder & CEO, Encore
  • Lindsey McLean, Co-Founder & CEO, HomeLister

​​Pivot of the Year

Winner: CRATE Modular, Inc.

CRATE Modular makes modular prefab housing that reduces cost, time, and carbon footprint compared to traditional construction. The company specializes in multifamily housing, educational facilities, commercial and hospitality spaces. CRATE Modular also offers pre-made designs or buyers can configure their own arrangement of modules to suit their specific needs.

The nominees:

  • CRATE Modular, Inc.
  • Jeeny
  • SteadyMD
  • Regard
  • Community

Startup of the Year

Winner: Whatnot

Whatnot is an online auction platform. From action figures to NFTs, if it’s collectible, you can probably find someone selling it on Whatnot. Founded in 2019, the company has already secured nearly a half a billion dollars in funding and shows no signs of slowing down. And now, with the recent introduction of their live auction service, users can livestream themselves as they hawk their goods. “We’re really excited to continue to build Whatnot and built it in LA,” said Grant LaFontaine, Co-Founder of Whatnot.

The nominees:

  • Whatnot
  • Boulevard
  • Liquid Death
  • EVgo
  • Genies

​Entrepreneur of the Year

​Winner: Evette Ellis Co-Founder & Chief Workforce Officer at ChargerHelp!

ChargerHelp! is an electric vehicle charging maintenance and operations company. As the nation seeks to electrify its transportation by the middle of the next decade, infrastructure remains a major roadblock as charging stations are frequently offline or working below capacity. ChargerHelp! aims to bring those systems back online with its teams of skilled technicians and better monitoring that pinpoints problems quickly and efficiently. As a Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE), and a nationally and state-certified Woman Minority- Owned Business Enterprise (WMBE), ChargerHelp! is bringing the “reliability as a service” model to the forefront of an industry that has traditionally skewed white and male.

The nominees:

  • Evette Ellis Co-Founder & Chief Workforce Officer at ChargerHelp!
  • Jessica Chang, CEO & Co-Founder, WeeCare
  • Katherine Power, CEO & Investor, Merit Beauty, VERSED
  • Mike DeGiorgio, CEO & Founder, CREXI

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dot.LA Summit: Why Tech Investors Are Coming Up Short in the Post-Roe Era

Ilana Gordon
Ilana Gordon is an entertainment, culture, and tech writer originally from Connecticut. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
dot.LA Summit on women's healthcare
image by David Ruano

Everything is harder if you’re an abortion provider, said Cindy Adam.

Adam is the co-founder and CEO of Choix, a telehealth clinic offering abortion, reproductive and sexual care to women. In the four months since Roe v. Wade was overturned, companies like hers have had to pivot, reacting to fast-moving legal changes on both the state and federal levels.

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dot.LA Summit: The Biggest Driver of Electric Vehicle Adoption Could be Gas Prices

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Summit EV adoption panel
image by David Ruano

It’s hard to imagine a better setting for dot.LA’s panel on clean mobility than the Petersen Auto Museum – the hulking, futuristic aluminum installation in Los Angeles’ Museum Row that houses more than 300 vehicles, both new and antique.

Hosted by dot.LA’s climate and energy reporter David Shultz, auto and tech enthusiasts gathered at the auspicious location for a discussion about the future of electric vehicles and how long it might take for them to overtake internal combustion engines.

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