I resigned from my position as a Programmer Analyst at Cognizant in January 2013. Afterwards, I spent some time working in my father’s office before co-founding a startup called ‘Virtualgodown’ with my former colleague, Vinoth Raja J. We worked hard to develop Virtualgodown, aiming to simulate the real world using a concept I named ‘Stockarea’ during my tenure there. We created several Virtualgodown models and filed numerous patents related to Stockarea and the simulation of the world economy through it.
Initially, my plan was to build Stockarea on Google Maps, enabling anyone globally to create a Stockarea and link it with others for supply and demand matching. We developed various apps and made several pivots along the way.
On August 8, 2018, I transferred 7 lakhs to Vinoth Raja J, expecting the amount to be returned after three months. However, he used the money to start stockarea.io and never repaid me. Despite having all the prototype models, I found myself struggling financially, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Vinoth Raja J essentially appropriated my idea and, although he didn’t establish a tech company, he managed to create a non-tech company that rents out warehouses eventually making it tech company through the same vision of virtualgodown.
I am still awaiting the return of my investment, which with interest, amounts to 13 lakhs. He has only offered to return 4 lakhs. This situation has been particularly challenging, as I later realized that Vinoth Raja J had a history of deceit, having cheated several people, including me. Arjun Kapoor, was working for Virtualgodown. They both stole years of hard work and money from me to start Stockarea.io