Who is Soham Parekh—Indian techie accused of scamming several start-ups
What's the story
The tech community is reeling from the shocking case of Soham Parekh, an Indian software engineer who has been accused of working multiple jobs at different start-ups simultaneously. The controversy came to surface earlier this week when Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI and former CEO of Mixpanel, called out Parekh on X (formerly Twitter). Doshi alleged that Parekh has been secretly pocketing salaries from four to five start-ups at the same time.
Warning issued
Doshi's warning post to tech community
Doshi warned the tech community about Parekh's alleged deceptive practices, saying, "PSA: there's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 start-ups at the same time." He accused Parekh of preying on Y Combinator-funded companies and more. Sharing what he claimed was Parekh's CV, Doshi said it looked impressive but is mostly fake with many non-existent links.
Career details
Parekh's educational background and alleged Zoom call screenshots
Parekh has a Master's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech (2022) and a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai (2020). He has held senior roles at several companies, including DynamoAI, Union.ai, Synthesia, and Alan AI. However, screenshots from Zoom calls shared by frustrated employers have surfaced online showing Parekh allegedly deceiving them about his location.
Shared experiences
Experiences of founders who have worked with Parekh
Founders who have worked with Parekh have shared similar stories of deception. Flo Crivello, founder of Lindy, tweeted, "Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews; must have a lot of training." Nicolai Ouporov, CEO of Fleet AI, noted that Parekh had been doing this for years. Michelle Lim from Warp said her team hired Parekh for a trial but canceled it immediately after learning about the accusations against him.
Remorse expressed
Have I completely sabotaged my career?: Parekh messages Doshi
Parekh has remained silent publicly but Doshi revealed that he had privately reached out to him. In a message shared by Doshi, Parekh appeared remorseful and uncertain about his future. He asked, "Have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation?" He also expressed willingness to "come clean." An X account under the handle @realsohamparekh has surfaced, claiming to be the genuine Soham Parekh and actively commenting on the controversy.