Soham Parekh, a software engineer based in India, has become the focus of a Silicon Valley hiring scandal after it was revealed that he secretly held multiple jobs simultaneously across various startups. He admitted to accepting high-paying roles—sometimes up to $200,000 annually—only to deliver minimal or no work. The controversy gained traction following a viral post from Suhail Doshi, co-founder of Mixpanel, who accused Parekh of deceiving YC-funded startups by faking credentials and offering elaborate excuses for underperformance.
Startup founders shared stories of how Parekh consistently excelled in interviews, securing offers with impressive credentials, including a claimed master’s degree from Georgia Tech—an institution that confirmed he was never enrolled. Despite initially showing promise, his work output was minimal, and his excuses ranged from drone strikes to personal emergencies. Founders later learned he was juggling multiple full-time roles simultaneously, contributing to widespread frustration among employers.
Excuses And Confessions Reveal Soham Parekh’s Widespread Deception Across Silicon Valley Startups
In an interview on the tech show TBPN, Parekh confirmed the allegations, expressing regret but also justifying his actions due to “extremely dire financial circumstances.” He claimed he had to work across jobs out of necessity, not greed, and acknowledged the unsustainable workload of over 140 hours per week. Despite public criticism, Parekh referred media inquiries to a startup founder who defended his engineering talent, adding further complexity to the narrative.
Silicon Valley Rocked by Soham Parekh Overemployment Scam as Startups Reveal Widespread DeceptionArkadiy Telegin, co-founder of Leaping AI, described being impressed by Parekh’s interview performance and offered him a lucrative package. However, once onboarded, Parekh’s productivity plummeted and excuses escalated. He claimed natural disasters and geopolitical conflict interfered with his work, despite being far from affected regions. Eventually, Telegin realized Parekh never even invoiced for his work—raising suspicions about whether he ever intended to fully commit.
Telegin’s discovery deepened when, during a conversation with a fellow YC founder, both realized they had been simultaneously deceived by Parekh. This “shared experience” became a recurring theme, as other founders from their startup accelerator program recounted similar stories. At industry networking events, mentions of an impressive interviewee would regularly lead to someone asking, “Is it Soham?”—revealing a surreal web of overlapping hires and betrayals.
Overemployment Scandal Highlights Startup Vulnerabilities in Race for Scarce Engineering Talent
Marcus Lowe, co-founder of Create, also hired Parekh as a full-time contractor. After multiple delays, Parekh showed up for only one day and shipped almost no code. He provided consistent excuses to avoid coming into the office, prompting Lowe to investigate further. Discovering that Parekh was simultaneously working for another startup, Lowe ultimately confronted him over his lack of performance and ended the contract. The experience echoed those of other founders who encountered similar deception.
Multiple founders recounted hiring Parekh for trials or short stints only to be disappointed by his lack of delivery and commitment. Some paid him thousands for trial weeks before realizing the pattern. According to Gergely Orosz, author of The Pragmatic Engineer, at least 10 companies confirmed hiring and firing Parekh due to dishonesty and underperformance. An additional 8 startups rejected him after interviews—many feeling their time had been wasted. Notably, he also had a brief tenure at Meta in 2021.
The incident underscores the intense competition among startups for AI and engineering talent, especially in a climate where Big Tech drives salaries beyond startup budgets. The Parekh saga illustrates how early-stage companies, eager to find standout candidates, can become vulnerable to deception. It also sheds light on the broader issue of “overemployment” in the remote work era, where a lack of oversight can allow individuals to juggle multiple jobs with minimal accountability.
