The Soham Parekh Scandal: A Tech Industry Wake-Up Call
The tech world is buzzing about Soham Parekh, an Indian software engineer who allegedly worked at multiple startups simultaneously. What began as a “PSA” tweet from former Mixpanel CEO Suhail Doshi has snowballed into a full-blown industry scandal, with over 20 million views and counting.
According to Doshi, Parekh “preyed on YC companies” by securing roles at 3-4 startups at once. At least three founders confirmed firing him, while others admitted he was still on their payrolls. The situation has divided Silicon Valley—some see Parekh as a folk hero outsmarting the system, while others label him a fraudster exploiting remote work loopholes.
Box CEO Aaron Levie joked that Parekh could “raise $100M pre by the weekend” if he claimed to be training an AI agent. Meanwhile, Laskie founder Chris Bakke suggested Parekh capitalize on his interview prowess by starting a coaching business.
Parekh himself claims he acted out of financial desperation, admitting “I really did not think this through.” The scandal highlights broader issues in tech hiring, from resume verification to the pitfalls of fully remote teams.
As memes flood social media (including a “Soham-as-a-Service” jab), the incident raises uncomfortable questions: Is this a failure of management, culture, or oversight? And in an era of “overemployed” subreddits, how many more Parekhs are out there?
