Equity crowdfunding is a relatively new market, but that isn't stopping the heated competition. 

One of the largest equity crowdfunding white-label services — DealMaker — announced a lawsuit against rival Issuance Inc. in January. After rulings on the pretrial motions, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled the lawsuit can proceed. 

Issuance CEO Darren Marble is the executive producer of "Going Public," a popular startup investing show that allows investors to invest in startups while watching the show.

DealMaker is a white-label technology company looking to bring technology to the capital markets. Private capital markets traditionally conduct transactions behind closed doors with no access to the general public. DealMaker creates the backend technology for companies of any size to raise funds on their terms and allow companies to accept funds from their supporters, customers and stakeholders.

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DealMaker filed a complaint in February alleging violations relating to breach of contract and trade secret theft. In the complaint, Marble allegedly approached DealMaker under false pretenses in an attempt at a partnership. DealMaker would be the backend technology solution investors would use when investing while watching "Going Public." 

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After obtaining the required information, Marble terminated the agreement and then publicly announced the release of Issuance, a DealMaker competitor. 

In a statement to Crowdfunding Insider, Marble stated:

The complaint requests injunctive relief directing defendants to delete and destroy confidential information and monetary damages associated with any damages. 

On June 27th, DealMaker released a follow-up press release stating the lawsuit will be progressing to trial.

When reached for comment, Marble further clarified:

“5 of 6 of their claims were dismissed on their face.” Noting that while the lawsuit will progress, most of the claims were ultimately dismissed prior to trial and clarified some discrepancies in the complaint.

Marble further noted the lawsuit might not tell the whole story. “Issuance already had a platform in market… We upgraded our MVP in November 2022 with Issuance Express.” And said the raise in question, ‘Pieta,’ was “a real deal. We unveiled the sculpture in Las Vegas with Steve Forbes. It was in no way a sham deal.”

While the outcome is still unclear, the competition is certainly heating up.

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