Soham Parekh: How Indian techie fooled 10+ cos, earned over Rs 2L per day or Rs 7 cr a yr; Even CEOs called him 'really smart'

Economic Times

2 days ago

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An Indian software engineer is facing serious allegations of moonlighting after several US startup founders accused him of secretly working at multiple companies at the same time. Soham Parekh, whose CV claims a master's degree from Georgia Tech, has come under scrutiny after Suhail Doshi, co-founder and former CEO of Mixpanel, publicly warned others about him.'PSA: there's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He's been preying on YC companies and more. Beware,' Doshi posted on X. He added that Parekh briefly joined his company, Playground AI, but was fired within a week when his duplicity came to light.Doshi did not stop at the warning. He posted Parekh's CV online, pointing out companies like Dynamo AI, Union AI, Synthesia, Alan AI, and Fleet AI where Parekh allegedly held simultaneous roles. Doshi claimed the CV was 'probably 90 per cent fake'. — nicolas_ouporov (@nicolas_ouporov) 'I fired this guy in his first week and told him to stop lying/scamming people. He hasn't stopped a year later. No more excuses,' Doshi wrote. He said he had cross-checked his claims with more than six companies before making them public.
The allegations quickly gained support. Nicolai Ouporov, co-founder of Fleet AI, said, 'He has been doing this for years and works at more than 4 startups at any given time.' — nicolas_ouporov (@nicolas_ouporov) Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy, echoed the frustration. 'Holy sh*t. We hired this guy a week ago. Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training. Careful out there,' Crivello posted, sharing that Parekh cited time zone issues and company changes to explain past exits.Matthew Parkhurst, CEO of Antimetal, confirmed Parekh had been his company's first engineering hire in 2022. 'Really smart and likeable; enjoyed working with him. We realised pretty quickly that he was working at multiple companies and let him go,' Parkhurst said.
The revelations have pushed the spotlight onto a wider trend: 'overemployment'. Deedy Das, an AI investor, called Parekh 'the tip of the iceberg' and said thousands might be doing the same. Das outlined tricks overemployed people use—mouse jugglers to keep their cursor active, blocking calendars as 'focus time', outsourcing tasks, keeping cameras off and delivering work just enough to pass.Screenshots from Reddit forums show self-claimed overemployed workers boasting of salaries crossing $800,000 a year through multiple jobs. 'No job should take too much effort (time) relative to the return,' one user wrote. 'Interviews should be gamified. Lie, cheat, and steal. Use AI.'Despite repeated terminations, Parekh's skill at interviews made him hard to detect. Startup founders said he came across as sharp, presentable and convincing. 'I was THIS close to hiring him. The craziest part is he actually crushed the interview,' Justin Harvey, co-founder of AIVideo, said.Adish Jain, founder of Mosaic, agreed. 'Can confirm. This guy wasted our time for a month. did great in interviews. but he's a liar.' Michelle Lim, product head at Warp, added that Parekh had been hired for a trial before the allegations surfaced and the engagement was cancelled.Deedy Das shared screenshots from Reddit where a data expert claimed to make $800,000 (₹6.85 crore) a year by holding five jobs at once. The same user said they earn over $3,000 (₹2.5 lakh) daily by avoiding office visits, calling themselves a 'consultant', and handling only key tasks. According to this user, strong skills, smart planning and keeping meetings to a minimum helped them manage multiple jobs for three years.
The row has triggered a debate about startups' hiring and vetting. Some argue that lean hiring and quick interviews leave blind spots that skilled candidates can exploit. Others say the problem runs deeper—remote work made multiple roles possible, while AI tools made it easier to juggle tasks.Many on LinkedIn blamed founders too. 'This trend is often a symptom of failed leadership, not just deceitful employees,' wrote one user. Another pointed out, 'With efficiency boosts with AI up to 10x and not much change in expectations by employers, this seems to be bound to happen.'Soham Parekh has not made any public statement but did reach out privately to Doshi. 'Asking this as genuine advice since I do really love what I do, have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean,' Parekh reportedly told Doshi.Meanwhile, questions linger. How did so many startups miss the red flags? Could this happen again? As remote hiring continues, founders might be rethinking trust, checks, and the fine line between flexibility and fraud.
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