Filing: College app Fizz accuses VC of sharing confidential startup information with rival Sidechat

诉讼文件：校园应用 Fizz 指控风投向竞争对手 Sidechat 泄露初创公司机密信息

A years-long lawsuit between the college-focused social app Fizz and rival Sidechat over unfair competition practices has taken an interesting turn. In a new filing, Fizz is accusing 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. 针对校园社交应用 Fizz 与竞争对手 Sidechat 之间关于不正当竞争行为的多年诉讼，近日出现了一个有趣的转折。在一份新的诉讼文件中，Fizz 指控风投公司 Maveron 的投资人 Jerry Lu 以考察潜在投资为幌子与 Fizz 会面，随后却将 Fizz 的非公开信息泄露给了其竞争对手 Sidechat。

The new allegations raise questions about the role venture capitalists play in competitive startup markets, as founders routinely share confidential business information while fundraising, trusting that investors won’t pass it along to competitors. Some VCs continue to request updates from startups they passed on, founders have said. 这些新的指控引发了人们对风险投资人在竞争激烈的初创市场中所扮演角色的质疑。初创公司创始人在融资时通常会分享机密商业信息，并信任投资人不会将其转交给竞争对手。据创始人称，一些风投甚至会在拒绝投资后，仍持续要求这些初创公司提供业务更新。

Both Fizz and Sidechat are 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 see the apps as providing value to their students. The UNC system banned the apps from its campuses across North Carolina, citing the bullying and bad behavior that take place on these anonymous social platforms. On Fizz, for example, students can simply post an individual’s name, inviting peers to opine publicly about the person. Fizz 和 Sidechat 从事的是同一项业务：为大学生提供社交和八卦的匿名在线论坛及应用。因此，双方对学生注意力的争夺非常激烈。然而，并非所有大学都认为这些应用对学生有价值。北卡罗来纳大学（UNC）系统以这些匿名社交平台上存在的欺凌和不良行为为由，禁止在北卡罗来纳州的所有校园内使用这些应用。例如，在 Fizz 上，学生只需发布某个人的名字，就能邀请同伴公开对该人发表评论。

Fizz originally sued Sidechat in 2023, alleging a range of abuses, including attempts to disrupt its launches at 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 didn’t name Lu, as his involvement wasn’t known at the time. Fizz 最初于 2023 年起诉 Sidechat，指控其存在一系列滥用行为，包括试图干扰其在各大学校园的发布活动、散布有关黑客访问 Fizz 数据的虚假谣言、向 Instagram 发送虚假垃圾邮件举报，以及花钱雇佣学生删除 Fizz 应用。最初的诉状中并未提及 Lu，因为当时他的参与情况尚不为人知。

Fizz says in its complaint that it only learned of Lu’s involvement through the legal discovery process, which revealed his role in obtaining and transmitting 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, funneling information about Fizz’s fundraising efforts and other matters to Sidechat. Fizz 在诉状中表示，它是在法律取证过程中才得知 Lu 的参与情况。证据显示，Lu 在获取 Fizz 的机密信息并将其传输给 Sidechat 的所有者 Flower Ave Inc.（该公司还在 2023 年收购了 Yik Yak 应用）的过程中扮演了角色。Fizz 的文件还指控 Lu 持续充当“管道”，将有关 Fizz 融资进展及其他事项的信息输送给 Sidechat。

A screenshot of a text attached to the filing 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. 诉状称，随文件附上的一张短信截图显示，Lu 在 2022 年 3 月与 Fizz 会面后，与 Flower 分享了相关记录。诉状指出，在那次会议中，Fizz 的创始人 Teddy Solomon 和 Ashton Cofer 分享了关于 Fizz 的“商业战略、增长计划、校园发布手册、用户指标、大使计划、融资努力和产品路线图”等非公开信息。

Lu went on to invest in Sidechat’s second seed round in October 2023, per PitchBook data. However, Fizz claims Lu had been in discussions with Sidechat as early as 2022. Additionally, Fizz claims that Jack Burlinson, an acquaintance of both the founders and Lu, shared confidential information — including Fizz’s investor deck and its fall summary for investors — with Lu, who then passed it directly to Sidechat. 根据 PitchBook 的数据，Lu 随后于 2023 年 10 月投资了 Sidechat 的第二轮种子轮融资。然而，Fizz 声称 Lu 早在 2022 年就开始与 Sidechat 进行接触。此外，Fizz 还声称，创始人与 Lu 的共同熟人 Jack Burlinson 将机密信息（包括 Fizz 的投资者演示文稿及其秋季投资者摘要）分享给了 Lu，而 Lu 随后将其直接转交给了 Sidechat。

Requests for comment sent to Lu and Maveron were not returned. Fizz declined to comment. 针对 Lu 和 Maveron 的置评请求未获回应。Fizz 拒绝置评。

Kyle Venn, CEO of the social media platforms Yik Yak and Sidechat, shared the following comment with TechCrunch via email: “These are allegations, not court findings. We deny any wrongdoing and will address this through the legal process. The alleged events happened before the current Sidechat team acquired the business in 2025 and inherited the lawsuit. No one on today’s operating team was involved. We’re currently focused on making a great product, not suing other apps.” 社交媒体平台 Yik Yak 和 Sidechat 的首席执行官 Kyle Venn 通过电子邮件向 TechCrunch 发表了以下评论：“这些只是指控，而非法院裁定。我们否认任何不当行为，并将通过法律程序解决此事。所指控的事件发生在当前 Sidechat 团队于 2025 年收购该业务并接手诉讼之前。现任运营团队中无人参与此事。我们目前专注于打造出色的产品，而不是起诉其他应用。”