Meet Soham Parekh: The Serial Moonlighter Silicon Valley Loves
▼ Summary
– Soham Parekh, a software engineer, worked simultaneously at multiple Silicon Valley startups without their knowledge, sparking viral discussions on social media.
– Several CEOs, including Suhail Doshi of Playground AI, shared experiences of hiring and quickly firing Parekh after discovering his moonlighting.
– Parekh excelled in interviews due to his technical skills but raised red flags by lying about his location and having inconsistent work histories.
– In an interview, Parekh admitted to working 140 hours a week across multiple jobs, citing financial struggles but also claiming passion for the work.
– Parekh is now attempting to leverage his viral notoriety by joining Darwin Studios, an AI video remixing startup, while facing mixed reactions from the tech community.
Soham Parekh has become Silicon Valley’s most talked-about software engineer after revelations surfaced that he allegedly worked multiple full-time jobs simultaneously without his employers’ knowledge. The story exploded when Suhail Doshi, CEO of Playground AI, publicly warned other startups about Parekh’s alleged moonlighting habits.
Doshi’s viral post on X claimed Parekh had been working at three or four startups at once, targeting Y Combinator-backed companies. The warning prompted other founders to share their experiences, revealing a pattern of deception. Flo Crivello, CEO of Lindy, admitted hiring Parekh only to fire him days later after learning about his history. Matt Parkhurst of Antimetal confirmed Parekh was their first engineering hire in 2022 but was let go after discovering his dual employment.
What makes Parekh’s case unusual is how effectively he navigated interviews and secured roles at high-profile startups. Despite suspicions, many founders praised his technical skills. Rohan Pandey, formerly of Reworkd, recalled Parekh performing exceptionally well in coding assessments, ranking among the top candidates. However, inconsistencies emerged when Parekh falsely claimed to be in the U.S., only for Reworkd to trace his IP address to Mumbai.
Parekh later appeared on a tech podcast to defend his actions, admitting he juggled multiple jobs since 2022 due to financial strain. He claimed to work 140 hours a week, a near-impossible schedule, and insisted he wasn’t using AI or outsourcing tasks. While he expressed regret, his explanations raised eyebrows, particularly his preference for equity-heavy compensation despite citing urgent money troubles.
The saga took another twist when Parekh announced a new role at Darwin Studios, an AI video startup, only to delete the post shortly after. The company’s CEO, Sanjit Juneja, issued a statement supporting Parekh’s engineering talent but offered no clarity on his employment status.
Silicon Valley has a history of turning controversy into opportunity, and Parekh’s story fits the pattern. Whether he faces backlash or capitalizes on his notoriety remains to be seen. For now, his case serves as a cautionary tale for startups vetting remote hires, and a bizarre example of ambition pushed to extremes.
(Source: TechCrunch)
