A storm has erupted in Silicon Valley following accusations by US-based Indian venture capitalist Ash Arora against two Indian-origin startup founders for engaging in fraudulent activities. This has triggered intense reactions on social media. Arora, a partner at LocalGlobe and a Forbes 30 Under 30 (Europe Finance) listee, alleged that the founders were fabricating figures and misrepresenting significant corporate associations to attract investors.
Within a candid post on X, Arora stated, “Two founders I encountered in SF this month are both fraudulent: 1. One is subletting a rented apartment and presenting it as revenue for his startup. 2. The other is claiming Amazon and Google are clients who have signed LOIs, while they have never even heard of them.”
She added, “What do these individuals have in common? They are both desi men. Caution is advised with these individuals!” She further revealed that four venture capitalists had reached out to her, accurately guessing the identities of the founders, prompting the question, “Is this Soham Parekh 2.0?”—which refers to a contentious engineer recently accused of resume fraud and manipulation by Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi.
Arora’s post quickly faced backlash for its community-specific framing. Critics challenged her reference to the founders’ ethnicity. “A sample of two. What’s the relevance of including their race?” one user questioned. Another user remarked, “The ‘desi men’ comment is provocative, but the issues of fraud in SF are quite widespread.”
In her defence, Arora justified her choice of words, expressing that her aim was to help others identify the individuals without directly naming them. “Being a desi myself… if we can’t critique ourselves, who will? How can we rectify issues if we refuse to recognise them?” she stated, adding that it would be deemed “racist” if a non-Indian made those observations.
The allegations have reignited dialogue about ethical conduct within the startup ecosystem and the importance of community accountability. While some disregarded her statements as unnecessarily provocative, others voiced concerns regarding the practices she highlighted. One user commented, “Inflating your revenue only harms yourself. True validation of your idea is never achieved this way.”
Arora’s remarks, coming just days after Suhail Doshi’s public warning about Soham Parekh, have intensified discussions, highlighting what many are calling a trend of misrepresentation within the startup landscape in technology’s most cutthroat environment.
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