Party ‘Akross’ the world with a new nightlife app

By SOPHIE ASHKINAZE-COLLENDER
Loving the nightlife at the Akross launch party in Tel Aviv (photo credit: ITAI ARNON)
Loving the nightlife at the Akross launch party in Tel Aviv
(photo credit: ITAI ARNON)
It’s 8 p.m. on Thursday. You’ve just gotten home from a long day when your friends text, asking you to go to a bar. To go or not to go out? A tech start-up is asking the same question.
“People need to know if it’s worth changing out of their pajamas,” says Denisse Dubrovsky, the start-up’s director of marketing.
Finally, there’s an app for that.
The new nightlife app Akross was introduced last week at a launch party on the WeWork rooftop in Tel Aviv by co-founders Tomer Sasson and Asaf Shema.
A digital encyclopedia for nightlife updated in real-time, the crowdsourcing app uses location-based services to highlight the latest happenings in one’s area.
Designed for the smartphone, the app opens to a home-screen full of events taking place later that night, complete with information such as how many hours until the event begins, how far away it is, and whether it’s a public or private function. Users can also see how crowded it is and whether it’s a happy hour or rooftop party.
The events are added and updated by the developers, but the ability to create events will eventually be extended to users.
“We want this to be community- based,” explains Dubrovsky. “It will be the seed that mirrors the personality of the community it’s in. The idea came from our frustration with trying to find things to do in our area that was easy and allowed us to search for what we’re looking for.”
The app also offers users the ability to mingle with fellow night owls by sending a “Cheers!” – a feature that allows you to double tap on a person’s profile and send a notification. Both users need to Cheers! each other to reveal their personal profiles.
The app focuses on college students, but more seasoned party-goers shouldn’t be afraid of missing out.
“We hope that we’ll figure out the magic formula for universal reach,” says Dubrovsky. “For now, we’re focusing on a younger demographic.”
“We’re so excited to finally share the app with the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem communities after so many months of hard work,” Sasson enthused at the launch. “We put our hearts into it.”
The team decided the White City was the perfect place to run quality assurance and gain local insight. “The passion with which life is lived feeds into our vision of our app,” says Dubrovsky. “Tel Aviv is an internationally renowned nightlife hub.”
The team dreams of going international and plans to launch in the US in the fall. “We already have some great connections in Boston,” says Dubrovsky.
Visiting student Sarah Goodman is excited about the app’s arrival in Boston.
“I’ll be able to use Akross to find out about popular bars and decide where to go based on price, entertainment or who I know will be there,” she said at the launch. “Although I live in the area, I don’t know all the good bars. I think that once the user base grows, it will encourage more people to join because they’ll see other people on it.”
Dubrovksy adds that users will have much to look forward to.
“One of my favorite features is Who’s There,” she says. “We’re still building the profile, but you’ll be able to announce who you are, just for one night. We’re so used to carefully curating our digital personas through Facebook or Instagram, which can be exhausting. With our profiles, you can announce to the bar or party that you’re celebrating a raise or your best friend’s birthday and that’s it.”
“You’re living in the moment.”
Akross is in its beta version, and may be downloaded on the Apple App Store for iPhones.


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