One name has rocked both Silicon Valley and Indian tech circles this week:
Soham Parekh, a Mumbai-born engineer accused of juggling
3–6 startups simultaneously—some YC‑backed—and quietly getting fired or ghosted once hired. The revelations dropped on
July 2–3, 2025, via warning tweets by Playground AI cofounder Suhail Doshi and corroborated by at least
five US startup CEOs.
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What's unfolded?- Doshi issued a public PSA: "PSA: there's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3‑4 startups at the same time... Beware." He also shared Parekh's resume, stating "probably 90% fake."
- Founders from Lindy, Fleet AI, Antimetal, Warp, and others disclosed that Parekh aced technical interviews, impressed recruiters, but then vanished or repeated poor performance once onboard.
- One CEO said he caught Parekh moonlighting during a "planned sick leave" by spotting GitHub commits he'd made for another company.
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Soham's explanation- In an interview on TBPN, Parekh admitted to holding multiple full-time jobs since 2022, working over 140 hours/week, and that it was "born of dire financial necessity", not greed.
- He claimed: "I personally handled all assigned work without AI or juniors," and reiterated: "I'm not proud... I did what I had to do to get out of a tough situation."
- Parekh privately reached out to Doshi, asking: "Have I completely sabotaged my career? I'm happy to come clean."
🔄 Now what?
- He's now reportedly focused exclusively with Darwin Studios, working as a founding engineer on AI-video products.
- The episode has reignited debates on ethics vs survival, remote work vulnerabilities, and hiring due diligence in global tech ecosystems.
🤔 Discussion points
- Skill vs integrity – Impresses in interviews, but what about honesty and delivery?
- Remote-work loopholes – How easy is it to play time zones and schedules?
- Financial pressure – Burnout and underpay may be pushing talent into drastic measures.
- Startups' blind spots – Background checks and vetting urgently need tightening.
- Redemption potential – Is Darwin a second chance, or a risk?
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What's the sentiment?- Some are sympathetic: "If anyone will be the first one‑person unicorn, it'll be Soham Parekh," praising his skill.
- Others condemn the ethics: "Total BS to blame financial hardship," they say .
- Reddit's "Overemployed" crowd chimed in that this is a larger trend—$800 k/year hustles with 5–6 jobs are not unheard of.
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Let's debate!- Is Soham a symbol of remote-work's dark side or a survivor navigating economic inequality?
- How can global tech firms update hiring protocols to prevent such saga repeats?
- Should companies consider better pay/benefits to avoid desperate multitasking?
Over to you. What's your take?
Crazy story. Can't believe he was actually juggling 3–6 startup jobs at once. Wild how he kept slipping through interviews and getting hired, only to ghost or get quietly fired. Feels like a mix of hustle and recklessness. I get that times are tough and money stress is real, but this kind of move burns a lot of bridges. Props to the founders who spoke up, definitely a lesson for startups to vet more carefully, and for devs to think long-term about reputation.