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The technology industry is trying after the software engineer was exhibited as working in several Silicon Valley startups at the same time – and experts say this is a lesson in Hustle’s culture that has gone too far.
Soham Parekh, a Mumbai software engineer, went viral on social media after being accused by Playground AI founder Suhail doshi on x At work with a number of start -ups at the same time.
Doshi wrote: “There is a man named Soham Pareh (in India) who works in 3-4 start-ups at the same time. He deals with YC (Y Combinator) companies and others. Be careful. He fired this man during his first week and told him to stop lying / deceit people. He did not stop.”
The publication has collected 25,000 likes with more founders that appear to hire Parekh including AI Startup Lindywhich fired him after seeing Doshi’s post.
Doshi has confirmed that CNBC is emailing it that Parekh has worked at the company. “We learned that he worked in several jobs shortly after he joined, based on constant major fluctuations in his availability and the quality of his production. He was also present on the site, where it became quite clear,” Dosha said.
Soham Parekh did not answer CNBC to make his interview request.
Matthew Parkhurst, founder of Software Startup Antimetal, said Parekh was the company’s first engineering rent in 2022 and was smart and enjoyable. “We learned quite quickly that he was working in multiple companies and dropped it” ” Parkhurst told xS
Other founders such as Haz Hubble, co -founder of Social Media Scheduler Pally, also appeared to offer Parekh A justified engineer roleS
“About a week ago, we offered him a role as a fundamental engineer, with a total package of $ 250,000 a year, but we retired after he would not live with us in San Francisco – now we know why!” Hubble told CNBC by email, explaining that since the company is at an early stage, the team that lives and works together is crucial.
“It seems to me that he should be addicted to the game to receive job offers instead of actually making money, given that he never lasts more than a few weeks and rarely receives a pay. He asks the question – why?”
Lindy and Antometal did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
In an interview with TBPN technological show On Thursday, Parech admitted that it was true that he worked for numerous startup companies at a time and was not proud of what he did.
“No one really likes to work 140 hours a week, but I had to do it for a need,” Pareh said in the show. “I was in extremely difficult financial circumstances.”
Parech said he started doing so only in 2022, and the exhausting lifestyle means that he became a “serial not a spa.”
He added that he “took care of these companies” and “greed is not an incentive” despite its financial situation. He said he had always accepted the lower payment, a higher proposal for equity in the companies.
However, the technological community on social media is divided, some questioned the ethics of secret work in many jobs, while others wonder how Parech removed it.
“Widespread” problem
The Parekh tale is not unique in the technology industry, with many technology workers disguised working in several jobs In recent years in an attempt to protect themselves from Mass shortages and uncertainty in the labor marketS
Subreddit called “R/over -tusted” was created in 2021, with users sharing tips on how they manage to balance multiple jobs without being discovered.
“During Covid’s peak, there was this hurry from technology companies to hire talent and there was this intense competition for talent,” said Alexandru Voya, head of corporate matters and policy at AI Company Synthesia, told CNBC to do so in an interview.
“In some cases, this caused this type of behavior to be more widespread than in the non-foreign times.”
Voica noted that the rise of remote work is essential to allow this behavior among technology workers. “This led to the obviously incredible benefits for hard -working people, but also allowed people who may have this type of attitude, suddenly, to get a job they wouldn’t have before.”
Having at least two jobs It is also common in the IT sector of India. According to Randstad India, there was a 25-30% increase in lunar lighting between 2020 and 2023, with workers citing factors such as low pay and remote work.
“The extreme end of the noise culture”
While Parekh’s exhausting hours are unusual – even in technology – this is a reminder of how deeply Hustle’s culture is in the industry.
“The Silicone Valley craze from performance and fast hiring indicators created conditions under which one can juggle five roles – and not because it is effective, but because no one really looks,” said Dmitry Zaitsev, founder of the talent management company CNBC civilization.
“What we see is the end of the Hustle culture: when work becomes execution and identity is crushed.”
Zaitsev explained that Parech essentially has gone through many circles of technical interviews, as soft skills are not as valued in technology. Qualities such as commitment, reliability and presence of the team “are often overlooked until there is no crisis,” he said.
“Burning is a predictable result when the workplace culture rewards overcoming and treats exhaustion as a badge for honor. The confession of Soham that it has worked 140 hours a week is not just unhealthy, but a reflection of a system that equals the production,” he added.
It is available as European start -up companies face pressure from some VC to accept a tougher work schedule – such as China “996” Or 24/7, always onwards a culture of the silicone valley-for better to compete at a global technological stage. This has been met with the reverse reaction, with the founders telling CNBC to make it overwhelming can lead to a crisis of productivity, burning and even resentment.
Suranga Chandratilake, a general partner at Balderton Capital, said this debate had arisen due to “fatigue fetishization” and a glorification of Hustle’s culture in the technological and launch scene in the Silicon Valley.
Flexible work at risk
Synthesia’s Voica warned that workers who benefit from flexible work policies risk painting other engineers in bad light and could take these benefits.
“Most of the engineers I know are very hardworking, very dedicated, very passionate, and when you have this type of more Cavalier’s behavior, he sets this tone that it is a normal community behavior,” Voyka explained.
This can lead to employers in the second place whether they should maintain hybrid work policies, he said.
“This will affect women. This will affect people with disabilities (s) more vulnerable, who actually benefit from this (flexible) work agreement and now they will be influenced by this type of behavior,” he added.
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Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the comments made by Alexandru Voica on Synthesia.