• By Sakshi Srivastava
  • Sat, 12 Jul 2025 02:54 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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San Francisco’s high-stakes startup ecosystem is once again under scrutiny after a damning social media post by Ash Arora, a London-based Indian-origin venture capitalist, sparked heated debate.

Arora, a partner at LocalGlobe and a Forbes 30 Under 30 (Europe Finance) honoree, took to social media platform X to allege fraudulent practices by two Indian male founders operating in the Bay Area. The post quickly went viral, drawing support, criticism, and concern from the startup community.

“Have met two founders in SF this month. Both fraud,” Arora wrote. “One is subletting a rented apartment and showing that as revenue for his startup. The other is claiming Amazon and Google are clients who have signed LOIs when they have never even heard of them.” 

She added, “What’s common among them? Both desi men. Beware of these people!” She further claimed that four venture capitalists had reached out, correctly identifying the founders in question, and asked, “Is this Soham Parekh 2.0? We need a BS radar community out here.” The post sparked a flurry of responses, both in support and critique. Some users questioned why Arora highlighted the founders’ ethnicity, suggesting it painted the broader Indian community in a negative light. One comment read, “A sample of two. What’s the point of including their race?” Another added, “Fraud patterns in SF are universal. Desperation or greed—it always circles back.”

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Arora, however, defended her stance. “The ONLY reason I mentioned them being desi was to ensure other people (and investors) are able to guess who these people are without actually naming and shaming them,” she responded. “As a desi myself, why in the world would I think lesser of my own community? If we can’t self-criticize, who will?” She further emphasized the damage such incidents cause to India's global reputation: “It breaks my heart that Indians are doing this and ruining the reputation of my country.”

Patterns, Precedents, And Public Reactions

Arora’s comments touched a raw nerve in a tech ecosystem already grappling with recent controversies. Her reference to “Soham Parekh 2.0” alludes to a recent incident involving Soham Parekh, a software engineer previously associated with Mixpanel. Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi publicly accused Parekh of misrepresenting himself to multiple Y Combinator-backed startups and exploiting job opportunities. Doshi posted Parekh’s resume online, calling it “90 per cent fake,” and several other tech professionals echoed these concerns.

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Arora’s post highlighted the need for a more robust vetting mechanism in early-stage investing, especially in an environment where founders often raise funds on the basis of exaggerated or fabricated claims. “We need a BS radar community out here,” she stressed, pointing to the ease with which some individuals game the system. Some netizens agreed. One wrote, “Even in crypto, people avoid projects with desi founders. That is the sad reality and we all know why.” Others lamented the short-term thinking of such entrepreneurs: “What’s the point of doing this? You’ll never validate your idea, and it’ll all collapse eventually.” Despite the polarized response, Arora’s stance gained traction among investors and startup observers, reigniting debates around ethics, representation, and accountability in the tech world.

Who Is Ash Arora?

Ash Arora is a self-made investor with roots in Delhi. According to her Forbes profile, she grew up in a refugee colony. As per her LinkedIn profile, she is an alum of Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Her career began in banking, and over the years, she navigated roles across trading, fintech, and blockchain before joining LocalGlobe, a prominent London-based venture capital firm.