‘No one likes to work 140 hours a week': Soham Parekh admits to holding multiple jobs across US startups, cites financial struggles

Indian Express

4 hours ago

Indian tech professional Soham Parekh has come clean about juggling multiple jobs across different United States-based companies–something he now admits was wrong, though it stemmed from financial desperation rather than malice or greed.
In a candid conversation on a TBPN show, Parekh openly acknowledged the allegations. When asked directly, 'Is it true?', he didn't dodge the question. 'It is true,' he replied. 'I would surely like to add colour to it but it is true.'
Parekh, who misrepresented both his employment status and his location to various companies, said he never set out to deceive for personal gain. 'No one really likes to work 140 hours a week, but I had to do it out of necessity,' he explained, insisting that it was survival–not ambition–that was at the heart of his choices.
Pressed on whether he believed he had broken any laws or simply taken advantage of legal grey areas, Parekh leaned into his remorse. 'I'm not proud of what I've done. It's not something I endorse either,' he said. 'I did what I had to do to get out of a tough situation.'
Despite criticism, including allegations that he misused his authority over junior developers, Parekh firmly denied that part. 'That's simply not true,' he said.
While he admits he made serious errors in judgment, Parekh says he has learned from the experience and takes full ownership of his actions. 'I was determined to change my situation, and I took action to help myself through it,' he concluded.
The video is going viral and have drawn reactions from netizens as well. A user commented, 'If anyone is going to be the first 1-person unicorn, it'll be Soham Parekh.' Another user wrote, 'There's nothing wrong in working for multiple companies at same time if he's delivering results. Companies are unreliable these days, just see the number of layoffs. Infact everyone needs to have multiple jobs. So I don't think he did anything wrong.'
A third person wrote, 'I can't believe I'm watching this as it's happening. Film directors are probably scrambling to get as much as they can out of this.'
A fourth individual commented, 'Again putting people in a guilt trip citing his personal financial situation because he didnt have money for going to a grad school. Total BS.'
Soham Parekh, who hails from Mumbai, eventually made his way to the United States in 2020–a move that had been in the works since 2018 but was delayed due to financial hurdles. He had initially planned to begin graduate studies that year but had to put those plans on hold.
Now, Parekh is at the center of controversy after Suhail Doshi, co-founder of Mixpanel, publicly accused him of deceiving multiple US-based startups by holding several jobs at once. In a tweet, Doshi alleged that Parekh was 'scamming US startups' by simultaneously drawing salaries from four to five companies–many of them backed by Y Combinator–while operating from India.
Despite the accusations, Parekh's resume paints a picture of someone with strong academic and professional credentials. After completing his undergraduate studies in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai in 2020, he went on to earn a Master's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 2022.