Runbin Dong
Scale Social AI – SEED Spring 2025
Published December 10, 2025
As part of our ‘Meet Our Founders’ series today, we introduce Runbin Dong, Founder and CEO of Scale Social AI based in Raleigh, NC. Scale Social AI turns everyday customer moments into authentic short-form ads, helping restaurants and franchises grow through localized, automated, community-driven marketing.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: Restaurants and local businesses spend billions every year on marketing, yet most struggle to create content that feels authentic and actually drives results. Generic ads don’t connect, and influencer marketing is expensive and inconsistent. I experienced these challenges firsthand when I built a dumpling business with my mother — we worked hard to deliver quality food, but struggled to find affordable ways to tell our story. Scale Social was born from that experience: to give businesses like ours a way to turn their customers into their best marketers.
Q: What are you most excited about right now? What keeps you up at night?
A: I’m most excited about the traction we’re seeing with franchise pilots — it validates that what we’re building solves a real, urgent pain point. The flywheel effect of authentic content turning into measurable results is powerful, and we’re just getting started. What keeps me up at night is scaling fast while keeping the product seamless for both businesses and customers. It’s the classic founder tension: moving quickly without compromising the quality of the experience.
Q: What does the road ahead look like for your company?
A: Our immediate focus is on becoming the go-to marketing engine for franchise restaurants across the U.S. That means deepening our pilots, expanding into multi-location groups, and proving consistent ROI. From there, the opportunity expands to other verticals like gyms, studios, and experiential businesses, and eventually to global markets. Long term, we envision building the infrastructure layer for customer-generated marketing — powering authentic content at scale across industries.
Q: How will your NC IDEA grant funds advance your company?
A: The NC IDEA grant has been transformative for us. It gave us the early resources to accelerate product development, run meaningful pilot programs with franchise partners, and refine our go-to-market strategy. Beyond the capital, it also connected us to a community of mentors, peers, and supporters who have opened doors and shared guidance at critical moments. The grant has allowed us to move faster, validate our solution, and position ourselves for long-term growth.
Q: When did you know you wanted to take an entrepreneurial path?
A: I knew I wanted to take the entrepreneurial path when I co-founded a dumpling business with my mom during my time at Moderna. It started as a passion project but quickly grew into a thriving local brand, and through that journey, I experienced both the joy and the challenges of building something from scratch. That experience taught me what it means to serve customers, hustle through operational roadblocks, and create something that resonates with a community. From that moment, I realized entrepreneurship wasn’t just a career option — it was the path where I could have the greatest impact.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
A: The most rewarding part has been building something that feels deeply personal, yet has the potential to impact thousands of small businesses. I’ve loved watching early customers light up when they realize they can market authentically without needing agencies or big budgets. I’ve also enjoyed the journey of learning and growing alongside my co-founders, advisors, and our community. At its core, it’s about turning a vision into reality, and that creative process is endlessly energizing.
Q: What is one thing you wish you understood about entrepreneurship before you ever got started?
A: I wish I had fully understood how much of entrepreneurship is about managing uncertainty and resilience. From the outside, you only see the big wins — funding rounds, customer logos, press mentions. What you don’t see is the countless moments of doubt, the pivots, the rejections, and the constant balancing act between vision and reality. If I had internalized earlier that the ups and downs are the journey — not detours from it — I would have spent less time second-guessing and more time leaning into the process.
Q: Who do you look to for advice and mentorship?
A: I’m fortunate to have an incredible group of advisors and mentors, many of whom are also investors in Scale Social AI. People like Scott Hamberger, Tammy Billings, Jud Bowman, and others have been invaluable in helping us navigate go-to-market, fundraising, and scaling challenges. Beyond formal advisors, I often lean on fellow founders in the NC entrepreneurial ecosystem, who are walking a similar path and can share unvarnished perspectives. And of course, my family — especially my mother, who was my first business partner — continues to be a source of wisdom and grounding.
Q: What other passions do you have besides your business?
A: Family is my biggest passion outside of the company. Being a father has taught me so much about curiosity, optimism, and resilience — lessons I carry into my work every day. I also have a deep love for food and hospitality, which is what first drew me into entrepreneurship and continues to inspire Scale Social’s mission. Beyond that, I enjoy writing and storytelling as a way to reflect and connect, and traveling as a way to expand perspective.
While visiting the Triangle area, Runbin recommends:
- I’d suggest walking around downtown Durham — it has such a vibrant mix of culture, food, and community. Stop by one of the local dumpling or noodle shops for an authentic meal, then catch a show at DPAC or a Bulls game. It’s the kind of city where small businesses give the place its character, and that’s part of what inspires our work at Scale Social.
Support Scale Social AI and Runbin by:
- We’d love for you to spread the word to restaurants, franchises, or local businesses in your network that struggle with marketing. Introductions to potential partners, investors, or business owners willing to share their perspectives are incredibly valuable. And, of course, amplifying our story — through shares, likes, or conversations — helps us continue to build momentum.