Four salaries, zero sleep: How an Indian developer fooled Silicon Valley

The man with the 140-hour weeks

Soham Parekh is no ordinary programmer. The Indian developer has achieved what is unthinkable for many: he worked for up to four start-ups in Silicon Valley at the same time - without anyone noticing at first. It wasn't until a viral tweet from Suhail Doshi, CEO of Playground AI, that his double and triple games came to light. The tweet was viewed 20 million times, after which a veritable wave broke out - founders of other start-ups came forward and admitted: Yes, they too had hired Parekh. And they too had been taken in.

What shocked many: instead of hiding, Parekh gave interviews. And openly explained that he works up to 140 hours a week - around 20 hours a day. Sleep? Not a chance. For him, this was simply necessary to get out of his "financial emergency".

Fraud or modern fight for survival?

Reactions to Parekh's behavior are divided: Some see him as a fraud who deliberately deceived his employers. Others see him as a symptom of a working world that has changed due to rising costs, high expectations and a growing gig economy.

Parekh sees himself more as a victim of circumstances - and as someone who simply wanted to achieve more than others. In the tech scene, this doesn't seem to have done him any harm: Despite all the accusations, he received new job offers, according to "TechCrunch". His strategy: rather a low salary, but a large share in the company. Risk? Yes. But apparently also calculated.

"Polyworking": a trend with downsides

What Parekh did has long had a name: Polyworking. And he is by no means the only one. More and more young people, including in Germany, are taking on several parallel jobs to make ends meet - or to quickly build up assets. According to surveys, 54% of Germans between the ages of 25 and 40 work part-time - whether as freelancers, in side jobs or working from home for several employers.

In the tech sector, the whole thing is being accelerated by AI tools: A third of young IT professionals are already using artificial intelligence to work more efficiently - and to be able to take on more jobs at the same time. Some earn up to an additional 40,000 euros a year.

However, this is not without consequences for health. Many report a lack of sleep, exhaustion and psychological problems. The equation "more work = more money" only works to a limited extent - and often at the expense of your own quality of life.

Morally gray, but legally clear

First things first: from a legal point of view, the whole thing is crystal clear - anyone who signs with several employers, works in parallel and conceals this fact is operating in a legally highly problematic gray area. Deception about availability, possible breaches of duty towards individual employers and data protection violations are realistic consequences.

But morally? Well, that's where it gets exciting. Because if companies preach "hustle culture" in job interviews and lure employees with an "ownership mentality", they shouldn't be surprised if individual talents overdo the game at some point.

Soham Parekh did what many young employees are secretly trying to do today - but in an extreme way. He didn't cheat, he exploited the system. And the system did not react. As long as companies rely on glossy CVs instead of honest conversations, cases like this will not remain the exception, but the new normal. Welcome to the age of the work-multiplier - with four jobs, two headsets and zero guilty conscience.