Engineer Soham Parekh's Multi-Startup Career Path
A name currently resonating across tech startup social media is Soham Parekh, a software engineer who has become the subject of numerous jokes and memes about single-handedly maintaining modern digital infrastructure or filling in for thousands of laid-off Microsoft employees. Social media posts indicate that Parekh has interviewed at dozens of tech startups over the years while allegedly juggling multiple jobs simultaneously.
This revelation came to light on July 2nd when Suhail Doshi, founder of the AI design tool Playground, posted a public service announcement on X. Doshi's post claimed that Soham Parekh, based in India, was working at three to four startups concurrently, preying on YC companies and others. Doshi stated he had fired Parekh in his first week for lying and scamming, a behavior that allegedly continued a year later.
Doshi's post quickly elicited similar stories from other founders. Ben South, founder of Variant, reported that his team caught Parekh during reference checks, discovering he had five to six profiles, each listing five or more previous workplaces. South’s suspicions were piqued during Parekh’s interview, prompting an earlier-than-usual reference check that revealed his multiple employment.
Marcus Lowe, founder of the AI app builder Create, also shared his experience. Parekh initially presented a strong profile, with a prolific GitHub contribution graph, prior startup experience, and exceptional technical performance during interviews. However, Lowe grew suspicious when Parekh repeatedly made excuses to delay his start date, citing a trip to New York to see his sister, followed by an illness. Lowe investigated Parekh's GitHub profile and found commits to a private repository during the period he claimed to be sick, as well as recent commits to another San Francisco-based startup that Parekh had not disclosed. Create ultimately let Parekh go after he failed to complete an assigned task.
Other founders echoed sentiments of Parekh’s initial impressive demeanor. Igor Zalutski, CEO of Digger, stated his company
