Who Is Soham Parekh: An Engineer Who Worked for 10 YC Startups at Once

A few days ago, Sohail Doshi, founder of Playground AI, wrote a post on X (Twitter) saying he had to fire an engineer named Soham Parekh. The firing happened just one week after hiring him. Soham was working at multiple startups at the same time—without telling anyone. Sohail explained that this wasn’t some new behavior. Even after being fired for it once, Soham kept doing it again and again with other companies.

This tweet quickly caught fire. Other startup founders and engineers began replying, saying they had also hired Soham and had similar experiences. Many of these companies were Y Combinator-backed startups. Turns out, Soham had been working for at least three, maybe even five or more, companies at the same time. All while pretending to be a full-time employee at each one.

On paper, Soham looked like a perfect hire. His resume listed impressive roles, top universities, and high-profile projects. He was well-spoken, nailed interviews, and initially delivered solid work. But it didn’t take long for things to fall apart. People started noticing he would miss meetings, push code late, or come up with odd excuses for delays. Some said he blamed time zone confusion or surprise family emergencies. Others said he gave inconsistent reasons, depending on which company he was speaking to.

That led to a bigger question: How exactly did Soham pull this off without getting caught sooner? And how did so many smart, fast-moving startups not realize what was happening?

How He Got Away With It

1. He was really good at interviews

Everyone who interviewed Soham agreed on one thing—he crushed it. Whether it was technical interviews, live coding sessions, or system design challenges, he always looked sharp. He gave confident answers, asked the right questions, and seemed deeply knowledgeable. One engineer even said on Hacker News that Soham was one of the best candidates they had ever seen.

2. Remote work made it easier

All of Soham’s jobs were remote. No in-person meetings, no office visits. Most companies didn’t require video calls all the time, so it was easy for him to stay off-camera and work from anywhere. With good calendar control and selective communication, he could keep each company in the dark. He only had to show up for a few key calls, do just enough work to be seen as contributing, and then vanish behind the “focus time” excuse.

3. Startups hire quickly

Early-stage startups are in a rush. They often need to fill roles fast and skip some of the slower background checks. They trust what they see on LinkedIn or GitHub and want people who can start immediately. Many YC startups also copy each other’s hiring practices, so if someone passes at one, it’s easier to get into others. Founders are busy, often stretched thin, and want to believe they’ve hired a rockstar. Soham took full advantage of this.

4. He likely used AI and automation

Soham may have used tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or even scripts to help write code faster. These tools let developers complete tasks quicker, giving him more time for other jobs. While there’s no proof, people on r/overemployed talk a lot about using AI to juggle multiple jobs. Soham probably used similar tactics to keep up appearances. AI-generated commits, email replies, and even auto-generated meeting summaries are all tools that someone could use to appear busy without actually doing full-time work at each job.

In the end, Soham’s case isn’t just about one guy fooling a few companies. It’s about how the new world of remote work and AI is changing the rules—making it easier than ever to get away with things like this. And that’s why his story is being talked about everywhere right now.

Working Multiple Jobs Is More Common Than You Think

Soham’s case may sound wild, but he’s far from alone. There’s a whole movement of people who secretly work two or more full-time remote jobs. It’s called being “overemployed.”

Here are some real numbers:

• A survey by ResumeBuilder found that 69% of remote workers have at least one side job. 37% say they work two full-time remote jobs at once.
• On r/overemployed, people regularly share stories of making $500,000–$800,000 per year by working 3–5 jobs.
• One user said he earns over $1.2 million a year from five different companies.

These workers often use a playbook: work remotely, keep the camera off, block off calendar hours with “deep focus” time, and automate as much as possible. They use AI tools to help with code, emails, and documentation. Some even use mouse jigglers to stay “online” in Slack. Most aim to do just enough to meet expectations—nothing more. They stretch tasks over days, even if they only took a few hours, to appear busy.

It’s not just a trend—it’s an underground economy. And as long as companies keep hiring remote workers without much oversight, this trend will continue.

Why Startups Should Care

Startups live and die by the speed and quality of their teams. When a single engineer quietly works for multiple companies at the same time, it’s not just a personal ethics issue—it’s a threat to product delivery, team trust, and overall company momentum. Here’s why this matters more than people may think:

It’s a risk for the business

If someone is working for multiple companies, they might miss deadlines, skip meetings, or leak private data. Even if they deliver, the trust is broken. And if they have access to sensitive info, it could get messy. No company wants their source code or customer data ending up in a place it shouldn’t be. At best, it slows down the team. At worst, it’s a major security or legal issue.

There’s also the problem of unaccounted time. If an engineer is splitting their hours across three or four jobs, no one is getting their full attention. Bugs take longer to fix. Features take weeks instead of days. And when they disappear or get fired, the company has to scramble to replace them—often at a critical moment.

It shows a broken hiring process

Many of these startups found out after the fact. That means their interview and onboarding process didn’t catch red flags. There was no check to see if the person was employed somewhere else. Some didn’t even ask. Most background checks focus on criminal records, not on verifying active employment. And in global hiring, checking with other companies can be tricky or even legally restricted.

Startups often hire based on speed and gut instinct. That works well when you’re bringing on someone you know personally or from a trusted network. But once you’re hiring strangers off LinkedIn or job boards, there has to be a little more structure. Soham’s story is a warning that “move fast and break things” might be breaking your own team.

What can companies do better?

• Do same-day reference checks
• Ask for proof of current employment status
• Watch for early warning signs: PTO in week 1, skipped meetings, slow PRs
• Use light monitoring tools (code activity, check-ins)
• Set clear expectations about exclusivity and working hours
• Ask directly during hiring: Are you currently working elsewhere? Are you planning to keep that job?

But they should be careful. Too much monitoring can scare away honest people. It’s a balance. You want to spot bad actors, not create a toxic culture of distrust. If you treat every remote worker like a potential cheater, you’ll lose your good ones too.

In the end, this is about protecting your company while still being a good place to work. Transparency, trust, and a few smart checks early on can go a long way.

What Happens Next?

For Soham, this could go two ways. He might disappear from the tech world for a while. Or he could try to flip this into a consulting gig. Like, “I beat your hiring system—let me teach your team how to spot people like me.” It wouldn’t be the first time someone turned a scam into a career. People have compared him to Frank Abagnale (from Catch Me If You Can) or Kevin Mitnick, the hacker turned security consultant. These figures became legends in their industries by first breaking the rules, then teaching others how to protect against people like them.

For everyone else, the takeaway is this: remote work changed the rules. AI made some people 5x faster. And startups that still use 2018 hiring playbooks are going to get burned. The tools that allow top talent to excel are the same tools that allow people to juggle multiple roles in secret.

In the future, companies might stop asking “Can you do the job?” and start asking: “How many jobs are you already doing?” It’s not just about hiring smart people anymore. It’s about making sure you’re not just one of five companies paying the same person a full-time salary.

Final Thoughts

Soham Parekh’s story is not just about one person being dishonest. It’s a mirror held up to the current state of hiring in tech. The remote era and rise of AI tools have opened up new ways to work—and new ways to cheat the system. If companies want to keep their teams focused and loyal, they need to adapt their hiring and onboarding strategies. That means better screening, clearer expectations, and staying alert to signs that something feels off.

But let’s not forget: this isn’t just a warning. It’s also a sign of how fast the work world is changing. If one person can juggle five jobs using AI, maybe the conversation should also be about what productivity looks like in 2025. Are we measuring work by hours or outcomes? Are our teams structured for focus, or overloaded with meetings and fluff?

The Soham case raises tough questions. And the tech world needs to start answering them now—before the next story like this hits the headlines.