Fizz accuses VC Jerry Lu of leaking secrets to rival Sidechat

Fizz has filed a new court complaint accusing Maveron investor Jerry Lu 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 filing centers on a March 2022 meeting in which Fizz co-founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer discussed the company’s strategy and plans with Lu. According to the complaint, Lu continued to act as a conduit, funneling information about Fizz’s fundraising efforts and other matters to Sidechat.

The filing also alleges that a mutual acquaintance, Jack Burlinson, passed along confidential material — including Fizz’s investor deck — to Lu, who then relayed it to Sidechat. Burlinson has said Lu approached him under false pretenses about wanting to invest in Fizz, and that he had no knowledge that Sidechat existed until seeing this reporting. Fizz says it only identified Lu’s alleged role through the discovery process — the legal procedure in which parties to a lawsuit exchange evidence — since the original 2023 complaint didn’t name him. Lu went on to invest in Sidechat’s second seed round, an early-stage venture funding round, in October 2023, though Fizz claims discussions between Lu and Sidechat began as early as 2022. Sidechat and Yik Yak are both owned by Flower Ave Inc., which acquired Yik Yak in 2023.

The allegations extend a lawsuit Fizz first brought against Sidechat in 2023, which accused the rival of 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 dispute plays out against a backdrop in which the UNC system banned both anonymous apps from its campuses across North Carolina, citing bullying and bad behavior on the platforms.

Kyle Venn, CEO of Yik Yak and Sidechat, pushed back on the new claims: “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.”

Why it matters

The dispute highlights a vulnerability facing early-stage startups, which routinely hand venture capitalists sensitive roadmaps, growth metrics, and fundraising details on the assumption that information won’t reach competitors — an assumption this case directly tests.