A years long legal battle between two anonymous college social apps has escalated. Fizz, a platform where students connect and gossip, now accuses a venture capitalist of passing its confidential business information to rival Sidechat. The new allegations, filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit, claim that Maveron investor Jerry Lu met with Fizz under the pretense of a potential investment, then turned around and shared what he learned with the competition.
The case raises uncomfortable questions about the trust founders place in venture capitalists when they share sensitive details during fundraising. Startups routinely disclose financial metrics, growth strategies, and product roadmaps to investors, relying on an expectation of confidentiality. Fizz claims that trust was violated, and that Lu acted as a conduit for proprietary information to Flower Ave Inc., the company that owns Sidechat and acquired the anonymous app Yik Yak in 2023.
Allegations of a secret channel
Fizz originally sued Sidechat in 2023, accusing it of a range of anticompetitive tactics including disrupting campus launches, spreading false rumors about a data breach, filing spam reports against Fizz on Instagram, and paying students to delete the app. At the time, Lu was not named in the complaint. Fizz says it only discovered his involvement through the legal discovery process, which turned up evidence that he obtained and transmitted the startup’s confidential information to Sidechat.
According to the filing, Lu met with Fizz founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer in March 2022. During that meeting, the founders shared nonpublic details about the company’s business strategy, growth plans, campus launch playbook, user metrics, ambassador program, fundraising efforts, and product roadmap. A screenshot of a text message attached to the complaint allegedly shows Lu sharing notes from that meeting with Flower Ave Inc. shortly afterward.
The complaint also alleges that Lu continued to funnel information to Sidechat over time, including updates about Fizz’s fundraising efforts. PitchBook data shows that Lu went on to invest in Sidechat’s second seed round in October 2023, but Fizz claims he had been in discussions with Sidechat as early as 2022, well before that investment.
The role of a mutual acquaintance
Fizz further claims that Jack Burlinson, an acquaintance of both the Fizz founders and Lu, shared confidential material including Fizz’s investor deck and a fall summary for investors with Lu. Lu then allegedly passed that material directly to Sidechat. Burlinson separately told TechCrunch that he had no knowledge of Sidechat until reading the article and that Lu approached him under the false premise of wanting to invest in Fizz. Burlinson said Lu collected information under false pretenses.
Requests for comment sent to Lu and Maveron were not returned. Fizz declined to comment. The allegations are part of a broader legal environment in which anonymous college apps have faced scrutiny. The University of North Carolina system banned both Fizz and Sidechat from its campuses, citing bullying and harmful behavior on platforms where students can post names and invite public judgments.
Sidechat’s response
Kyle Venn, CEO of Yik Yak and Sidechat, responded via email. he stated that these are allegations, not court findings, and that Sidechat denies any wrongdoing. Venn noted that the alleged events took place before the current team acquired the business in 2025 and inherited the lawsuit. He emphasized that no one on the current operating team was involved and that the company is focused on building a great product rather than suing other apps.
The case highlights the vulnerabilities startups face when courting investors. Founders often feel pressure to be transparent in pursuit of funding, but the assumption that VCs will maintain confidentiality is not always safe. As the legal process unfolds, the industry may need to reconsider how it handles sensitive information shared during fundraising conversations. For more insights on how technology is reshaping learning environments and the challenges of digital adoption in schools, check out our AI in education coverage.
