Taylor Davis
Troodie – MICRO Spring 2025
Published September 10, 2025
As part of our ‘Meet Our Founders’ series today, we introduce Taylor Davis, Founder & CEO of Troodie based in Winston-Salem, NC. Troodie is an AI-powered social commerce platform that connects diners, influencers, and restaurants through personalized recommendations and provides sales attribution from social media content.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: 1 in 3 restaurants won’t survive their first year, often due to poor marketing and lack of customer acquisition. Restaurant owners spend thousands on Yelp and Google ads without knowing what’s actually driving sales or seeing results. Meanwhile, diners are overwhelmed by scattered recommendations, saved in Instagram folders, notes apps, and screenshots, making it hard to act on them when it’s time to eat. I started Troodie to solve this disconnect and bring transparency, personalization, and real ROI to both sides of the dining experience.
Q: How will your NC IDEA grant funds advance your company?
A: The NC IDEA grant funds will help us complete the development of our mobile app, launch our first revenue-generating pilots across North Carolina, and validate our business model with real customer data. This funding will also support onboarding for restaurants and influencers, product testing, and expanding our marketing to drive adoption in key cities like Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and the Triangle; laying the groundwork for sustainable growth across the region.
Q: When did you know you wanted to take an entrepreneurial path?
A: Ambitious, hardworking, and resilient, I’ve always sought to break barriers and create meaningful impact. After being featured in Black Enterprise and Fortune magazines and opening the NASDAQ in my childhood, I knew I was meant to build. That early spark led me to careers in investment banking, venture capital, and ultimately to founding Troodie.
Q: What other passions do you have besides your business?
A: Outside of Troodie, I’m deeply passionate about access to capital and financial education. I love supporting other founders and helping them navigate funding and growth. I also co-founded a non-profit with my dad focused on building generational wealth through financial literacy for families, and I’m committed to making financial knowledge more accessible to underserved communities.
While visiting Winston-Salem, Taylor recommends:
- First, I’d encourage them to sign up for Troodie where they could find all of their friends’ and my recommendations for places to eat and explore – including personalized recommendations based on their food & travel persona. In Winston-Salem, one of my favorite things to do is rent an e-bike from Pedego and ride around Research Parkway and the West Salem trails. After that, I’d grab a coffee from Krankies – a local favorite I’ve been visiting since high school!
Support Troodie and Taylor by:
- Join our waitlist, connect us with restaurants, influencers, or city partners, and help us spread the word! We also welcome intros to investors, advisors, and collaborators who believe in empowering local businesses with data and community.