“Rebuilding Yourself From Scratch”: The Story of Anastasia Tyurina, Founder of GarageTech Academy and GrantiX Ambassador
Two years ago, Anastasia Tyurina moved to Barcelona with no clear plan — just a strong desire to begin again.
It wasn’t her first relocation: she has lived in nine countries and led dozens of projects along the way.
“Every migration is a jump into water of unknown depth. You can’t fully prepare. Everything shifts — the language, culture, context, even your own voice,” she says.
Before Spain, Anastasia headed the HSE Incubator in Moscow — one of the strongest in the world. She launched hundreds of startups, built networks with investors, worked in HR and innovation. But every relocation brought her back to the same question: Who am I here — now, в this new country?
Barcelona changed her perception of work, identity, and personal value.
“You become an equal among equals, and once again you search for your voice. But somehow my experience finally came together here — into a complete picture.”
How GarageTech Academy Was Born
During the pandemic, Anastasia’s family lived in Armenia, in a house in the mountains. Friends, kids, small creative projects… That’s where the first version of “Garage” appeared.
“Give a teenager an idea and an adult nearby — and they create anything. They just need an environment where they are allowed to try.”
From the first media projects grew camps, workshops, animation studios, filmmaking, game design. Teens learned to calculate the value of their work, create products, sell their first pieces, even launch charity initiatives.
Today, GarageTech Academy is a hub for teens aged 12–18 — a place where they can taste-test real professions: design, AI, entrepreneurship, animation, game development.
But the most important part is the environment.
“They come in like tiny cactuses — sharp, tense, afraid to be ‘not enough’. And a couple of hours in the right atmosphere… and they create things that give you goosebumps.”
Teens, Fear and Growing Up
Working closely with migrant families, Anastasia sees how parents’ fears shape their children.
“We move in stress — and pass that stress on. Kids face everything at once: new language, body changes, new culture, new school. They have 500 thoughts in their head and often feel like they don’t fit in. It’s important to teach them not to hide — but to try.”
GarageTech becomes a training ground — safe, warm, but demanding.
A place where teens learn teamwork, responsibility, self-worth, and how adult life actually works.
Community in Barcelona: People Who Keep Each Other Standing
Around Anastasia, a circle of social entrepreneurs and parents has formed — people rebuilding their lives in Spain.
“Abroad, you don’t survive because you’re strong. You survive because you build the right circle — your emotional and professional support system.”
Social entrepreneurs, she says, are the most resilient.
They do meaningful work even when it doesn’t bring quick profit.
What unites them?
Common values. And a shared desire to build sustainable lives — for themselves and those they serve.
How GrantiX Entered the Story
The connection appeared naturally.
“I once led blockchain communities in Russia and Armenia, but I always treated the industry carefully. Too much scam. But there’s another side — people with values, like Vitalik Buterin or Konstantin Livshits. They’re building a different culture — transparent and honest.”
In GrantiX, Anastasia saw a tool that could expand the possibilities for GarageTech Academy and other social initiatives: new funding sources, new support formats, transparent processes.
“All opportunities come from people. Meeting Konstantin personally — feeling his values — that’s when I believed in this project. That’s why I became an ambassador.”
For her, being an ambassador isn’t just about visibility.
It’s also about responsibility.
About not disappearing when things get tough.
About choosing to stand forward — and lead.
Advice to Social Entrepreneurs
“We live in a digital age. We must use every tool that helps us grow. A good cause must be sustainable — that’s our responsibility. We need new resources, new learning, new energy.”
What helps her personally during hard times?
“First — get enough sleep.
Second — remind yourself why you’re doing this.
And third — stay close to people who nourish you, not drain you. You can’t give to others if you’re empty.”
4 tips from Anastasia Tyurina for social entrepreneurs:
— explore digital tools
— seek new paths to sustainability
— protect your energy
— remember: a good cause must be profitable, or it will lose to a bad one
Looking Ahead
Anastasia smiles:
“I want to write a book. Or create something that helps teens feel confident and open to life. I see so many closed, tense kids with a million thoughts in their head. I want to tell them: I had that too. And everything can change.”
You believe every word — because her lived experience has weight.
“If someone had told me at 14: ‘I felt that way too’, I would’ve moved forward faster. I would’ve doubted less. And if we give teens even one moment when they feel strong — they can do anything. Even build their life on the Moon.”
