At least 5 CEOs accuse Indian techie Soham Parekh of secretly working at multiple startups simultaneously, prompting others to reveal the depth of the phenomenon.
Everything started on July 2, when San Francisco based CEO and cofounder of Mixpanel, Suhail Doshi posted on X, “PSA: there’s a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He’s been preying on YC companies and more. Beware.”
This revelation sparked many answers, with 5 CEOs for now having responded, testifying that they also had hired the man and had been lied to. This led to numerous conversations online, with one Reddit user claiming to be a moonlighter revealing the scale of the problem.
What is moonlighting?
The term moonlighting refers to the practice of holding a secondary job without the knowledge of the primary employer. This is an issue, as it often lowers work productivity and quality, but also poses concerns about conflict of interest and data security. Moonlighting is especially feared in the tech industry, as data security breaches are a great danger and remote work, which is hard to surveil, is common. The legality of moonlighting varies according to the contract, with some businesses allowing it.
The Soham Parekh affair
5 companies' CEOs responded to Doshi’s original post. Flo Crivello, founder and CEO of Lindy wrote “Holy sh*t. We hired this guy a week ago. Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training. Careful out there”.
Other CEOs who admitted to having hired Parekh also shared how great he was in interviews, but how they all fired him when they discovered he was secretly working for up to four other jobs.
Original whistleblower Suhail Doshi did a follow-up post this morning, claiming that Parekh had contacted him. Here is what the alleged scammer wrote: “Asking this as genuine advice since I do really love what I do, have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean”.
Only the tip of the iceberg
In reaction to the story, AI investor Deedy Das shared on LinkedIn a post made on Reddit of a user saying he also practises moonlighting and explaining all the techniques. The user claims to work 5 jobs and make $800k a year. Das added the caption, “Soham Parekh is going viral for being employed at 5+ YC companies at once. This is the tip of the iceberg, like this Redditor pulling $800k a yr working 5 jobs.”
The Reddit user claims to be a data expert with 15 years of experience who now makes over $3,000 ( ₹2.5 lakh) a day.
His “advice” is to do like him, claiming to be a consultant to work fully remote, avoiding office visits and unnecessary meetings. The user claims their success comes from strong skills, focus, and smart work habits, especially during the three years they have managed multiple remote jobs across different US time zones.
He explains, “No job should take too much effort (time) relative to the return. This is also tied to stress. Are they demanding things? Unfriendly? Drop them!”. Moreover, he explains how he was successfully employed every time, “I've never failed a background check. Just lie…Interviews should be gamified. Lie, cheat, and steal. Use AI”.
Disclaimer: This information has been provided by a third party. India TV does not vouch for the authenticity of the claims made.
