Finance Desk – In a story that sounds like a plot from a tech drama, Soham Parekh, a software engineer from India, shocked Silicon Valley by secretly working full-time for dozens of US startups—at the same time.
It all came to light when Suhail Doshi, founder of Mixpanel, shared on social media that he had to fire Parekh within a week after finding out he was also working for other companies. Soon, more startup founders spoke up with similar experiences.
What Exactly Did He Do?
Reports suggest that Parekh was juggling up to 34 different jobs with various startups, including Y Combinator-backed companies. He managed to pass interviews, get hired, and even complete tasks — all while working for multiple teams at once.
One Founder’s Story
Dhruv Amin, co-founder of an AI startup called Create, shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter). He said they hired Parekh after an impressive interview. But once hired, things turned strange:
Parekh delayed his joining, saying he was in New York.
He called in sick on the first day and asked for a laptop to be shipped to him.
He skipped meetings, delayed tasks, and made excuses.
Later, Dhruv’s team found out that Soham was already working at another startup named Sync — and even featured in their Employee of the Month video!
When questioned, Parekh denied everything. But after the video surfaced, Create immediately ended his contract.
Soham Finally Admits It
Speaking on The Backchannel podcast, Parekh admitted everything:
It is true. I’m not proud of it… but I did it because of financial problems.
He claimed he worked up to 140 hours a week and completed all the work by himself, without using AI or help from anyone else.
Parekh also said the hustle began in 2022, when he chose an online course from Georgia Tech over graduate school — though Georgia Tech later said there’s no record of his enrolment.
What’s Next for Parekh?
Despite the controversy, Soham has already landed a new job at a San Francisco-based AI startup called Darwin. He says he’s done with juggling jobs and plans to focus on just one role.
