Who is Indian techie Soham Parekh and why is he going viral?

Moonlighting in India's technology landscape is what many deem as an unspoken alternative to make more money and sustain oneself in the long run. But, it is illegal with respect to contractual obligations. And, that is why Soham Parekh's story is gaining attention.

Social media is abuzz about Indian techie Soham Parekh, who has shot into fame for his moonlighting practices. An IT engineer by training, he became an internet sensation after it came to light that he was taking multiple jobs simultaneously, and breaking his contractual obligations.

With many of his ex-employers now giving public statements, Parekh's story has sparked an online debate about the ethics of moonlighting.

Soham Parekh works in the IT industry, and his name has been mentioned by many blogs and tech influencers this past week. While his resume declares his interest and years of experience in software engineering, various names in the tech industry have claimed that Parekh is a 'liar' and 'an unethical worker.'

Moonlighting in India's technology landscape is what many deem as an unspoken alternative to make more money. However, it is illegal with respect to contractual obligations, and is often looked down upon by employers. And, that is why Soham Parekh's story is gaining attention.

On July 3, Suhail Doshi, the CEO of Mixpanel, had put up a post on his X account. "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." He proceeded to share the candidate's resume on the platform, stating that most links were gone and claimed that 90 per cent of the document could be fake.

He proceeded to share screenshots of conversations with other hiring companies Soham had applied to, backing his claim of moonlighting across start-ups in the IT sector. "I fired this guy in his first week and told him to stop lying / scamming people. He hasn’t stopped a year later. No more excuses," he added.

Parekh has also been facing accusations from other tech company heads. Antimetal's founder, Matthew Parkhurst, had replied to Doshi's tweet. He wrote, "Funnily enough, Soham was our first engineering hire in 2022. Really smart and likable; enjoyed working with him. We realized pretty quickly that he was working at multiple companies and let him go."

Even Lindy AI's founder Flo Crivello replied to the post, and warned others, "We hired this guy a week ago. Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training."

Amid the allegations, In a recent interview with TBPN, a tech podcast, Parekh revealed his side of the story. He mentioned he was not proud of what he had done, and that his dire financial situation had driven him to do so.

"No one really likes to work 140 hours a week, but I had to do this out of necessity," he said in the interview. He further revealed how his moonlighting was driven by the bills he had to pay in the US, and it was his desperation that pushed him to do this.

Parekh's story has now sparked debates on the ethics of moonlighting and on companies underpaying employees, with some sympathising with the techie and others demonising him.

While many tech industry names have stated that such practices are common in remote work roles, experts have emphasized on the need for transparency, honesty, and commitment to a job role.

Parekh is currently working with AI firm Darwin in San Francisco, and has ended his stints with other organisations.