“Lied about everything on their resume…” Startup reveals how one candidate’s fake resume cost them over Rs 2 lakh

In the startup world, one wrong hire can shake things up big time. Teams are small, everyone matters, and a single mistake can hit your money, time, and even team morale. A recent post from a Chandigarh startup is showing just how serious it can get.Ashutosh Gupta, Chief Business Officer at Praper Media, shared on LinkedIn that hiring a candidate who allegedly faked his experience ended up costing the company over Rs 2 lakh and months of disruption.Gupta says this happened back when the startup was small and didn’t do formal background checks.“Back when Praper was smaller, background verification felt unnecessary. So we hired based on interviews and gut feeling. If someone seemed good in the interview, we brought them on,” he said. The candidate, referred to as ‘Chirag’ in the post, claimed he had three years of experience and earned Rs 40,000 at his last job. Based on that, the startup offered him Rs 45,000.Within two months, things didn’t add up. Gupta shared an example that showed the gap between what Chirag claimed and what he could actually do.“We assigned him a reaction video edit. Standard work. Our junior editors handle 3 per day. Chirag took 2 DAYS. And the output was unusable,” he wrote.Clearly, the performance didn’t match the resume.“For someone who claimed 3 years of experience and Rs 40K salary at their last agency? That made no sense,” Gupta added. After that, the team contacted his previous employer to check his claims.The financial impact? Big for a small startup:Rs 1.35 lakh paid in salary over three monthsRs 40,000 spent on trainingRs 25,000 spent on hiring a replacementGupta also pointed out the bigger fallout. “Plus: Delayed client work, affected team morale, wasted time. Total: Rs 2L+ and 4 months lost,” he said.After this, Praper Media made background checks a must. Gupta says the company now does HR verification, manager calls through official channels, LinkedIn cross-checks, and salary slip validation. He stresses that these steps are now non-negotiable.The takeaway? In startups, hiring on instinct can backfire. Always check resumes and verify claims properly. It saves money, time, and keeps the team happy.Disclaimer: This article is based on information shared on social media. The views and experiences described are those of the original poster and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Times of India.Thumb image: LinkedIn/ Ashutosh Gupta