A startup founder has claimed that his company suffered losses of more than Rs 2 lakh after hiring a candidate who allegedly falsified details on his resume. The incident, shared on social media, has triggered discussion around hiring practices, skill verification and background checks in startups.
Ashutosh Gupta, Chief Business Officer at Praper Media, stated in a LinkedIn post that the company hired an individual who had “lied about everything” on the resume. According to him, the organisation relied mainly on interviews and instinct at the time, without conducting formal background verification.
The candidate was said to have claimed three years of experience and a salary of Rs 40,000 at his previous workplace. Based on the interview performance and perceived confidence, he was offered the role when the company was still in its early stages and did not have a structured verification system.
Soon after joining, concerns reportedly emerged regarding performance. Gupta said the new hire was assigned a standard reaction video editing task that junior editors usually complete three times a day. However, the employee allegedly took two days to deliver the assignment, and the output was considered unusable.
Verification Gaps Exposed
Following the performance issues, the company decided to check the candidate’s background. Gupta claimed that upon contacting the previous employer, discrepancies began to surface. It was found that the employee had reportedly earned Rs 25,000 instead of the Rs 40,000 stated on the resume.
The founder also alleged that the candidate had not resigned voluntarily but had been terminated due to performance-related concerns. In addition, a reference contact provided during the hiring process was said to be a friend posing as a former manager and offering a favourable review.
According to Gupta, the financial impact included around Rs 1.35 lakh paid as salary over three months, approximately Rs 40,000 spent on training time, and Rs 25,000 incurred in hiring a replacement. He added that there were also indirect costs such as delayed client deliveries, reduced team morale and lost productivity.
In total, the company estimated losses exceeding Rs 2 lakh over a four-month period. Gupta stated that exaggerated claims and manipulated salary slips are not uncommon and stressed the need for early verification rather than waiting for issues to arise.
Online Debate Continues
The post attracted mixed reactions from professionals and entrepreneurs. Some users argued that exaggeration at entry level is common in a competitive job market and that the main responsibility lies with interviewers to assess real skills effectively.
One commenter suggested that a technically strong interviewer can evaluate genuine ability within a short time, especially in creative roles such as video editing. According to this view, background checks are important but should not replace practical skill assessment.
Another user pointed out that beyond salary discrepancies, the real concern was the significant gap between claimed experience and actual output. Others highlighted that trust, once broken, is difficult to rebuild in professional settings.
The incident has once again brought attention to the challenges faced by startups in hiring, particularly at a time when artificial intelligence tools and easy access to online resources are reshaping resumes and job applications. For many growing companies in India, the balance between speed in hiring and thorough verification continues to remain a critical concern.
