Fizz Says VC Shared Confidential Startup Data With Rival Sidechat
3 min read
A legal dispute between college-focused social networking app Fizz and its competitor Sidechat has taken a new turn, with fresh court filings accusing a venture capitalist of leaking confidential startup information during fundraising discussions.
According to a recent filing, Fizz claims that Jerry Lu, a partner at venture capital firm Maveron, met with the company’s founders while considering a potential investment. Instead of keeping the shared business details private, Fizz alleges that Lu later passed sensitive information to Sidechat, one of its direct competitors.
The allegations highlight a broader concern within the startup ecosystem. Founders often reveal confidential business strategies, financial plans, product roadmaps, and growth metrics while pitching investors, relying on the expectation that this information will remain private—even if no investment ultimately takes place. The case raises fresh questions about how venture capital firms should handle confidential information received during fundraising.
Fizz and Sidechat both operate anonymous social networking platforms designed for college students, allowing users to interact, share opinions, and discuss campus life without revealing their identities. The market is highly competitive, with both companies seeking to expand across universities in the United States.
However, anonymous campus apps have also faced criticism. The University of North Carolina (UNC) system previously banned these platforms across its campuses, citing concerns over cyberbullying, harassment, and other harmful behavior. On Fizz, for example, users can post another student’s name, prompting anonymous comments from classmates.
The lawsuit itself began in 2023 when Fizz accused Sidechat of engaging in several anti-competitive practices. Those allegations included interfering with Fizz’s launches at college campuses, spreading false claims that hackers had compromised Fizz’s systems, filing fake spam complaints against Fizz on Instagram, and paying students to uninstall the Fizz app.
At the time, Jerry Lu was not named in the lawsuit because, according to Fizz, the company was unaware of his alleged involvement.
Fizz says it only uncovered Lu’s role during the legal discovery process. The company claims documents obtained through discovery revealed that Lu not only acquired confidential information from Fizz but also shared it with Flower Ave Inc., the parent company behind Sidechat, which acquired the anonymous social app Yik Yak in 2023.
The new filing further alleges that Lu continued sharing updates about Fizz beyond the initial meetings, including details about its fundraising activities and other internal developments.
As evidence, Fizz included a screenshot of text messages that allegedly shows Lu sending notes to Flower after meeting with Fizz’s founders, Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer, in March 2022. During that meeting, the founders reportedly discussed confidential information, including Fizz’s business strategy, campus expansion plans, user growth metrics, ambassador program, fundraising efforts, product roadmap, and launch strategy.
PitchBook data shows that Lu later invested in Sidechat’s second seed funding round in October 2023. However, Fizz alleges that Lu had already been communicating with Sidechat as early as 2022.
The filing also names Jack Burlinson, described as someone familiar with both Lu and Fizz’s founders. According to the complaint, Burlinson shared confidential Fizz documents—including the company’s investor presentation and its Fall Summary prepared for investors—with Lu, who then allegedly forwarded those materials to Sidechat.
Neither Jerry Lu nor Maveron responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations. Fizz also declined to provide additional public comments beyond its court filing.
Responding to the claims, Kyle Venn, CEO of Yik Yak and Sidechat, said the accusations remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
In a statement provided via email, Venn said the company denies any wrongdoing and intends to defend itself through the legal process. He also noted that the events described in the lawsuit allegedly occurred before the current Sidechat management acquired the business in 2025 and inherited the ongoing legal dispute. According to Venn, none of the current operating team members were involved in the alleged actions, adding that the company’s primary focus today is building its products rather than pursuing legal battles.
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