'is This Soham Parekh 2.0?': Vc Says ‘desi’ Founders Cooked Revenue, Name-dropped Amazon, Google

A large wind has erupted successful Silicon Valley aft US-based Indian task capitalist Ash Arora accused 2 Indian-origin startup founders of fraudulent behavior, sparking crisp reactions crossed societal media. Arora, a partner astatine LocalGlobe and a Forbes 30 Under 30 (Europe Finance) listee, claimed nan founders were inflating numbers and faking awesome firm ties to impressment investors.

In a blunt station connected X, Arora wrote, “Have met 2 founders successful SF this month. Both fraud: 1. Is subletting a rented flat and showing that arsenic gross for his startup. 2. Is claiming Amazon and Google are clients who person signed LOIs erstwhile they person ne'er moreover heard of them.”

She went connected to add, “What’s communal among them? Both desi men. Beware of these people!” She further noted that 4 VCs had messaged her correctly guessing nan identities of nan founders, asking, “Is this Soham Parekh 2.0?”—a reference to a arguable technologist precocious called retired by Mixpanel laminitis Suhail Doshi for alleged resume fraud and manipulation.

The station quickly drew occurrence for its community-specific framing. Critics questioned her mention of nan founders' ethnicity. “A sample of two. What’s nan constituent of including their race?” 1 personification asked. Another noted, “The ‘desi men’ portion is simply a spicy take, but honestly, nan patterns of fraud successful SF are beautiful universal.”

In response, Arora defended her wording, saying her volition was to indirectly thief others place nan individuals without naming them. “As a desi myself... if we can’t self-criticize, who will? How will we ever hole thing if we are excessively proud to admit it?” she wrote, adding that it would beryllium labelled "racist" if a non-Indian made nan aforesaid observations.

The allegations person reignited conversations astir ethical behaviour successful nan startup ecosystem and nan domiciled of organization accountability. While immoderate dismissed her remarks arsenic unnecessarily incendiary, others expressed interest complete nan practices she exposed. One personification commented, “If you're inflating your revenue, you're only hurting yourself. You'll ne'er genuinely validate your idea.”

The timing of Arora’s post—days aft Suhail Doshi publically warned astir Soham Parekh—has only added substance to nan fire, drafting attraction to what immoderate are calling a shape of startup misrepresentation successful tech’s astir competitory hub.

Published on: Jul 12, 2025 1:20 PM IST