It's every founder's worst nightmare: You take money from a venture capitalist, who then uses what he learns from due diligence and board meetings to create a competitor. Sure Inc., a startup that provides the infrastructure layer between insurance companies and consumer brands, has sued Boost Insurance, a rival VC-backed startup whose founder and CEO was an early Sure investor and director.
From the complaint: “It was now clear to Sure that Maffeo had stolen Sure’s ideas, technology, and trade secrets, all of which he obtained while he was a member of Sure’s Board, and misappropriated that information to turn Boost into a carbon copy of Sure.”