A lawsuit of years between Fizz college-focused social app and rival secondary conversation on unfair competition practices has taken an interesting turn. In a new presentationFizz accuses investor Jerry Lu, who works at venture capital firm Maveron, of meeting with Fizz under the guise of exploring a potential investment, but then turned around and shared Fizz’s non-public information with 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 funds, trusting that investors will not pass it on to their competitors. Some venture capitalists continue to ask for updates from startups they left behind, the founders have said.
Both Effervescence and secondary conversation They’re in the same business: anonymous online forums and apps where college students can network and gossip. As a result, competition for students’ attention is fierce. However, not all universities believe that applications provide value to their students. The UNC system banned apps from their campuses in North Carolina, citing the harassment and bad behavior that takes place on these anonymous social platforms. On Fizz, for example, students can simply post a person’s name, inviting their peers to say whatever they want about that person.
Effervescence originally sued Sidechat in 2023alleging a variety of abuses, including attempts to disrupt its launches on multiple college campuses, spreading false rumors about hackers accessing Fizz data, sending false spam reports to Instagram, and paying students to delete the Fizz app.
The original complaint did not name Lu, as his involvement was not known at the time.
Fizz says in his complaint that he only learned of Lu’s involvement through the legal discovery process, which revealed his role in obtaining and transmitting confidential information from Fizz 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, funneling information about Fizz’s fundraising efforts and other matters to Sidechat.
A screenshot of a text attached to the presentation shows Lu sharing notes with Flower after meeting with Fizz in March 2022, the complaint alleges. In that meeting, Fizz founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer shared non-public information about Fizz’s “business strategy, growth plans, campus launch playbook, 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 Proposal book data. However, Fizz claims that Lu had been in talks with Sidechat as early as 2022.
Additionally, Fizz claims that Jack Burlinson, an acquaintance of the founders and Lu, shared confidential information, including Fizz’s investor platform 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 VennCEO of social media platforms Yik Yak and Sidechat, shared the following comment with TechCrunch via email:
“These are allegations, not judicial findings. We deny any wrongdoing and will address this through the legal process. The alleged events occurred before the current Sidechat team acquired the business in 2025 and inherited the lawsuit. No one on the current operational team was involved. We are currently focused on building a great product, not suing other apps.”
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