A year-long lawsuit between college-focused social app Fizz and rival Sidechat over unfair competition practices has taken an interesting turn. In a new filing, Fizz accuses investor Jerry Lu, who is with venture capital firm Maveron, of meeting with Fizz under the guise of exploring a potential investment, but then turning around and sharing Fizz’s non-public information with its rival, Sidechat.
The new allegations raise questions about the role venture capitalists play in competitive startup markets, as founders routinely share confidential business information while raising money, trusting investors won’t divulge it to competitors. Some VCs continue to request updates from startups they’ve passed on, the founders have said.
Both Fizz and Sidechat are in the same business: anonymous online forums and apps where college students can network and gossip. The competition for students’ attention is therefore fierce. However, not all universities see the apps as a value for their students. The UNC system banned the apps from its campuses across North Carolina, citing the bullying and misbehavior that takes place on these anonymous social platforms. At Fizz, students can e.g. simply write a person’s name and invite peers to say what they want about that person.
Fizz initially sued Sidechat in 2023, alleging a series of abuses, including attempting to disrupt its launches on various college campuses, spreading false rumors about hackers accessing Fizz’s data, sending false spam reports to Instagram, and paying students to delete Fizz’s app.
The original complaint did not name Lu as his involvement was not known at the time.
Fizz says in its complaint that it first learned of Lu’s involvement through the legal discovery process, which revealed his role in obtaining and transferring Fizz’s confidential information to Sidechat’s owner, Flower Ave Inc., which also acquired the Yik Yak app in 2023.
Fizz’s filing also alleges that Lu continued to act as a conduit conveying information about Fizz’s fundraising efforts and other matters to Sidechat.
A screenshot of a text attached to the filing shows Lu sharing notes with Flower after meeting Fizz in March 2022, the complaint alleges. At that meeting, Fizz founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer shared non-public information about Fizz’s “business strategy, growth plans, campus launch book, user metrics, ambassador program, fundraising efforts and product roadmap,” the complaint states.
Lu went on to invest in Sidechat’s second seed round in October 2023, according to PitchBook data. However, Fizz claims that Lu had been in discussions with Sidechat as early as 2022.
In addition, Fizz alleges that Jack Burlinson, an acquaintance of both the founders and Lu, shared confidential information—including Fizz’s investor deck and its fall investor summary—with Lu, who then passed it directly to Sidechat.
Requests for comment sent to Lu and Maveron were not returned. Fizz declined to comment.
Kyle Venn, CEO of social media platforms Yik Yak and Sidechat, shared the following comment with TechCrunch via email:
“These are allegations, not court orders. We deny any wrongdoing and will address this through the legal process. The alleged events occurred before the current Sidechat team acquired the company in 2025 and inherited the lawsuit. No one on today’s operations team was involved. We are currently focused on making a great product, not suing other apps.”
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