In just two years, the Georgian startup Awork has evolved from a small employment platform into a comprehensive digital ecosystem that includes applications, a website, and an applicant management system. Today, it serves over 150,000 job seekers and more than 1,000 businesses. While rapid growth presents operational challenges for any organization, Awork’s Chief Operating Officer, George Mumladze, possesses the knowledge and determination to tackle these difficulties effectively.
“I always knew that I wasn’t the type of person who would feel comfortable in a standard work environment with fixed start and end times,” says George Mumladze, COO of Awork. Before joining the startup, he had a varied career path, including roles as a digital marketing manager, marketing director, and project manager. Ultimately, he found his place in the startup ecosystem. He was drawn to Awork’s mission from the very beginning but joined the team a bit later. Initially, he led the marketing department and worked on the market entry strategy before transitioning to the role of COO. Awork‘s aim to simplify the hiring process aligns perfectly with his beliefs. He feels that the employment market in his country has long needed a digital transformation, which is one reason Awork quickly gained popularity among both job seekers and recruiters.
Awork began operations in the summer of 2022 with the launch of its website. The creators soon realized that over 60% of the platform’s users were accessing it via mobile devices. This insight led them to prioritize the development of a mobile app. Thus, Georgia’s first job application app was created, notable for its sleek design and user-friendly interface. “We didn’t want the app’s only distinguishing feature to be that it was the first of its kind, so we introduced the Swiping feature to enhance the user experience—something our younger users were already familiar with from Tinder,” George explains. This seemingly simple yet innovative feature in the employment sector became one of the main reasons for the app’s success. Awork consistently ranked among the top five most popular apps in Georgia on the App Store for a year. Today, the app boasts over 110,000 downloads and has a significantly higher retention rate than similar products.
Why is swiping so enjoyable?
Swiping, or the action of moving one's finger across the screen, is an instinctive gesture for people — even babies use it when they spot something interesting. According to research, using swiping to navigate content is particularly comfortable for mobile users. This finger movement reminds us of analog alternatives, such as flipping through a magazine or choosing clothes from a rack in a store. When swiping is used as part of a game mechanic, like in Tinder (and Awork, as discussed in this article), each swipe triggers a sense of curiosity. Additionally, the brain rewards us with dopamine when our gaze lands on something interesting as a result of swiping.At the end of 2022, the startup received a grant of 150,000 GEL from the Innovation and Technology Agency of Georgia. George remarked, “Participating in the grant competition was a very interesting experience for our team. The funds we received helped us to better establish our presence in the market, but perhaps even more importantly, it validated our idea. We were convinced that we were creating a truly valuable product.” In a conversation with George, it becomes evident that a consistent theme throughout his career has been challenging the existing status quo. He describes himself as someone who, whether out of laziness or restlessness, is always looking for ways to simplify processes. “Developers often say, ‘Don’t fix it if it’s not broken,’ but that’s not how I see it. If something can be improved or streamlined, it should be,” George explains.
Awork presented a unique challenge in this context. Previously, outside of his team, he didn’t have the freedom to make changes to the company’s transformation. However, he now had the opportunity to apply his vision to every aspect of the rapidly growing startup. “The founder of Awork, George Razmadze, fully trusted me in this regard. I had the resources and authority to implement change. If something didn’t work out, it would fall on me, but if we achieved good results, it would certainly be the merit of the entire team,” George adds with a laugh.
Awork’s contribution to the development of HR technologies goes beyond just providing comfort. The startup has achieved the following milestones:
- Reached over 150,000 job seekers.
- Covered sectors where companies particularly struggle to find candidates, such as retail and hospitality.
- Acquired over 1,000 partner organizations.
- In 2024, Awork reached an annual recurring revenue (ARR) milestone of $200,000, three times more than the previous year.
- Created Awork Flow, an AI-powered recruiting management system developed based on feedback and recommendations from recruiters.
George Mumladze’s professional philosophy combines the flexibility typical of startups with the strategic thinking often found in larger organizations. He advocates for the removal of bureaucratic barriers that are logically unjustifiable and rooted in detrimental traditions within big companies. “In reality, any bureaucracy is a defense mechanism,” he notes, offering an observation that may be challenging for entrepreneurs who have never worked in a large organization to grasp.
George’s approach to team management reflects this mindset. He believes that in a startup, no ideas should be considered “off-limits” based on an individual’s job title. Instead, the focus should be on who owns the idea and who has a clear vision for its execution.
“Awork is a very pleasant place to work, but it’s crucial to keep up with the fast pace,” George emphasizes. He does not believe in the concept of work-life balance until the company achieves a certain level of stability. “There is no work-life balance. There is Work, Work, Work, Work, and Life balance,” he asserts.
George suggests that the indistinct boundaries between work and personal life are not always negative, especially when the job involves flexibility and creativity. He shares that he can participate in a meeting while at the gym on a Sunday evening, and that brief task does not disrupt his day of rest.
Awork’s next significant challenge is expanding into Central Asia, with Uzbekistan likely being the first target due to its population of over 35 million and a labor force of 16 to 17 million. This expansion will not only change the company’s geographical footprint but will also signify a new phase for Awork. While it is impossible to be fully prepared for every change, George believes that learning from the experiences of others will facilitate adapting to new circumstances. “Now is the right time for me to prepare for things that will be very useful later, such as developing strategies for managing cultural differences and change,” he explains.
The Awork team aims to enhance the employment experience, which in many countries is still tied to traditional newspaper-style platforms. Their next steps include offering hyper-personalized job vacancies, refining AI-based matching algorithms, and creating tools that prioritize users’ time and preferences.
George Mumladze represents a new breed of leader—pragmatic yet flexible, structured yet adaptable. He bridges corporate strategies with the dynamic nature of startups, integrating the diverse aspects of the employment landscape. He believes that startups can learn valuable lessons from large, successful companies and that these companies can also gain insights from the startup ecosystem. His goal extends beyond simply growing his business; he seeks to demonstrate how the corporate world and the startup community can share valuable insights.
As Awork prepares to advance to the next stage, one thing is clear: in George Mumladze’s world, change is the only constant, and speed is of the essence.
