Upstarts : Startups

A look at entrepreneurship and technology in the Republic of Georgia.

Many thanks to Dodie Kharkheli for her assistance with this story.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: GITA Tech Park

The government-sponsored GITA Tech Park provides mentorship, education, and co-working space for startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Sophia, 83

Sophia educates herself on new technology to better help customers in her son's CD, Xerox, and SIM card shop in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

Wide open farm land stretches for miles in rural Georgia. The practice of farming goes back centuries and is typically taught from father to son.

Upstart: Sophia, 83

Sophia educates herself on new technology to better help customers in her son's CD, Xerox, and SIM card shop in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

Lawyer-turned farmer Beka never stops improving his business by diversifying and using new technology. As he runs several branches of agriculture under his brand, he is no stranger to multitasking.

Upstarts

Women rest next to a high-tech pay box in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. On these ubiquitous machines, people of all ages pay utility bills, parking fines, bid on auctions, and more.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

Foreman at Beka's sheep farm outside of Dedoplis Tskaro, Republic of Georgia. He has invented devices to speed up his workflow, such as a ceiling-mounted retractable sack stitcher and a wheelbarrow with a built-in scale.

Upstart: Zura the Farmer

A stalk of hail-damaged barley in a field outside of Dedoplis Tskaro, Republic of Georgia.

Upstart: Zura the Farmer

Zura, a young farmer of 27, supervises the harvest of barley on his fields.

Upstart: Zura the Farmer

A flock of young turkeys. A fully-grown bird can fetch as much as 100 GEL at Christmas, so this tradition remains even on farms which have adopted the most groundbreaking entrepreneurial practices.

Upstart: Zura the Farmer

Zura and one of his prized imported cows. Farm practices rarely change in Georgia, and the simple act of cross-breeding foreign livestock has tripled his milk production in less than a year.

Upstart: Zura the Farmer

A whiteboard on the barn wall tracks the breeding records of the imported cows.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

A typical view of children playing around the modest apartment buildings in rural Georgia, where agriculture is a major means of income.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

Beka and his son. Throughout the endless responsibilities that come with a diverse and thriving agricultural endeavor, he still makes time for his family.

Upstart: Beka the Farmer

A view of the beautiful and agriculturally rich Georgian countryside.

Startup: Omedia.ge

At Omedia.ge, a custom software service. Like many startups in Tbilisi, they rent office space in residential apartments because it is more cost-effective than traditional office space.

Startup: Omedia.ge

At Omedia.ge, a custom software service. Like many startups in Tbilisi, they rent office space in residential apartments because it is more cost-effective than traditional office space.

Startup: Omedia.ge

Kitchen detail from the headquarters of Omedia.ge, a startup in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Omedia.ge

A smoke break on the balcony at the headquarters of Omedia.ge, a startup based in an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Cheese House

Shelves at Cheese House, a small entrepreneurial business in Tbilisi that carries a variety of unusual and avant-garde Georgian cheeses.

Startup: Omedia.ge

Afternoon turns into evening at the headquarters of Omedia.ge, a startup based in an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Cheese House

Examples of new and eclectic cheeses made by Anna herself.

Upstart: Cheese House

Anna, owner of Cheese House in Tbilisi, works to expand Georgia's cheese options through sourcing hidden varieties from small villages as well as creating her own with ingredients like mint, cocoa, and Georgian wine.

Startup: Wandio.com

For hours, employees at Wandio stay focused on their screens. Like many startups in Tbilisi, Georgia, they are headquartered in a residential apartment instead of an office.

Startup: Omedia.ge

The offices of Omedia.ge, headquartered in an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Wandio.com

Detail of the offices at Wandio, a startup in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Cheese House

The entrance of Cheese House, a ground-breaking small business in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Wandio.com

Flowcharts keep the engineering team on track at Wandio, a software startup in Tbilisi.

Startup: Wandio.com

Coffee gets the morning started at Wandio's kitchen. Like many other startups in Tbilisi, their office is actually an apartment.

Startup: Wandio.com

Employees vanish behind screens during the day at Wandio, a startup in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Wandio.com

Employees head to an impromptu meeting in the kitchen of Wandio's headquarters, an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Wandio.com

Employees are deeply focused late into the afternoon at Wandio, a startup in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Startup: Wandio.com

Detail of a ceiling lamp at Wandio, a software startup based in an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Upstart: Lisi Green Houses

A chair amongst the tomato plants at Greenhouses on Lisi Lake, one of Georgia's first commercial organic and sustainable farms.

Upstart: Lisi Green Houses

Clients pick up an order of lettuce at Green Houses on Lisi Lake, one of Tbilisi's first organic and sustainable farming businesses.

Upstart: Lisi Green Houses

Tarpulins at Greenhouses on Lisi Lake. The farm grows a variety of commonplace and unusual vegetables, including those not yet popular in Georgian cuisine.

Upstart: Lisi Green House

Traveling through tunnels to the mountains where Green Houses on Lisi Lake are located.