AI startup founder blasts ex-managers for biased reference checks: ‘Many treat exits like betrayal’; netizens react

A founder from AI startup ecosystem has sparked a heated conversation after slamming the reference check culture in Indian companies, especially within the SaaS sector. He said many treat the departure as “betrayal”.

The post has stirred discussion on Linkedin about ego, power dynamics, and fairness in corporate culture.

Sudhir P. took to the platform and said, “I don’t do reference checks. Especially not in Indian companies”, adding, “Indian work culture has a serious problem with handling exits. Too many folks treat exits like betrayal.”

He argued that reference checks, rather than providing objective feedback, are often tainted by personal grudges. According to him, ex-managers frequently let their egos get in the way when an employee chooses to leave.

“I’ve seen too many good folks get dragged down because a previous boss took their departure personally,” Sudhir said, pointing to how even high-performing employees can be unfairly discredited.

He shared about his ordeal of being sabotaged by ex-managers. “One CEO blocked me on every single platform the day I resigned (still not sure why). Another gave me a slanderous reference… even though we parted on a handshake, after 3 rounds of polite negotiations,” the founder recalled.

His takeaway? “Guess it’s high time we gotta start trusting people for who they are today, not who someone else claims they were.”

Rejecting the tradition of checking with former managers, he concluded, “I don’t care what your ex-manager thinks cause I don’t need their bruised ego dressed up as feedback. Especially in the Indian SaaS ecosystem — it’s rotten beyond repair.”

Netizens react

One of the users said, “Even with ref checks in place, Indian companies have a critical problem with just asking people what happened in those orgs that gave them bad references. Guess it’s a crowd mindset problem that we have left unchecked for a long time.” Another commented, “Glad this is finally being talked about! The exit stage is where the chaos really shines!!”

“Only SAAS ??? Entire system across Industries is rotten. Courtesy “Office Politics”,” wrote the third user. “This is so true! The funny part is that if you ask recruiters why the last person left the role, or why it’s been open for a long while, they get defensive,” remarked the fourth.