Khoury News
Three Khoury alumni are looking to improve Boston’s food and entertainment scene
After the pandemic sapped Boston's dining and night life, Kurt Marcinkiewicz, Tim Sakharov, and Logan Wells devised a solution — a more social, vibe-based app to connect Bostonians with their new favorite spots.
When Kurt Marcinkiewicz, Tim Sakharov, and Logan Wells graduated from Khoury College in the late 2010s and headed into the world of tech entrepreneurship, they carried a shared vision to build technology that not only connects people digitally but also enriches the ways they connect in real life. That vision has come to life with Atmosphere, an app designed to help Bostonians discover social spots that reflect their lifestyles and tastes.
“Atmosphere is an app to help people find hidden-gem bars and restaurants based on vibe,” Marcinkiewicz said. “Like a dimly lit cocktail bar or a Chinese place downtown with a rooftop — ways that a local might describe a local place.”
The idea emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic from a blend of frustration and curiosity.
“For Tim and me in particular, our favorite restaurant going back to when we were at Northeastern closed down,” said Marcinkiewicz. “We were randomly in Brookline one day and stumbled upon this place called Publick House. We were like, ‘Wow, how do we not know about this place? It’s exactly our vibe.’ That’s when we realized that finding a place isn’t always about star ratings or what’s on the trendiest list.”
As the pandemic ravaged Boston’s dining and nightlife, many spots closed for good. Marcinkiewicz, Sakharov, and Wells decided to use the moment as a reset, venturing beyond the obvious and discovering new favorites tucked into unexpected corners of the city.
“Oftentimes you want it to be something that matches your personal vibe, maybe in general or maybe just for the day,” said Marcinkiewicz. “So being engineers, we got to work creating discrete descriptions of places and decided to make an app out of it.”
The story behind the app began during the trio’s time at Khoury College, where they met. While each had unique interests within tech, they shared a common entrepreneurial spark.
“During my time at Northeastern, I had three co-ops at startups. That was a very formative experience,” Marcinkiewicz said. “Now, starting a company, I’m really leaning on those mentors and lessons.”
“I think the best thing that prepared us for this was experiential learning as a whole,” Sakharov echoed. “I only did one co-op, but I also studied abroad and researched with a faculty member. That breadth of experience across different companies and contexts was huge.”
Wells also found the co-op program a formative experience.
“I did three co-ops in the five-year program, and that experience — actually getting time on the job — is what prepared me for working in software dev professionally,” he said. “When [Marcinkiewicz and Sakharov] told me about this idea, I immediately thought, ‘Wow, this is solving a problem I’m having in Boston as well.’ That’s the kind of mindset I built at Northeastern.”
After graduation, the three explored careers in software engineering and product development, but following the pandemic, they kept circling back to Atmosphere. Traditional review sites, influencer posts, and “best of” lists failed to capture the nuance of the spaces they loved.
“The more time we spent on it, the more we realized, hey, this is a pretty cool idea,” Sakharov said. “It was exciting to launch on the App and [Google] Play stores and have people share the same experience we had.”
Atmosphere users can search for places based on moods and atmospheres rather than just cuisine or price. They can browse collections curated by the community, from the best study spots for finals to quirky date ideas to low-key spots to take visiting family. And they can plan nights out by building custom itineraries and sharing them with friends.
“We sort of see ourselves as the TripAdvisor for Gen Z,” said Sakharov. “We built the app for us — young professionals, college students, folks new to a city. Long term, traveling is going to be a big use case, too.”
The founders see Atmosphere evolving well beyond its Boston launch.
“Boston is a particularly difficult dining market; it is the city that always sleeps,” said Marcinkiewicz. “We felt if we could do a good job here, there’s a good chance we could do well in other cities, too. We’re looking to expand to a couple midsize cities, then New York and LA.”
“I’d love to hear someone tell me one day that they found their new favorite spot on Atmosphere,” Wells added. “I’m hoping it can be the go-to when you’re looking to go out, meet people, or find a shared space.”
And fittingly enough for a trio of college friends, they hope the app can help its users — many of them college students — meet new people. After all, it’s what led to Atmosphere in the first place.
“The people you meet and the experiences you have at Northeastern really shape your opportunities down the line,” Sakharov said. “Even if you take a non-traditional path, it’s about gathering more experiences.”
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