Jason Mashinchi has lost count of how many times he’s seen business owners buried in spreadsheets. Orders delayed, files misaligned and teams firefighting problems that should never exist. These were everyday frustrations cropping across Cambridgeshire. Watching talented people tied down by admin rather than serving customers struck a chord with him and set him on a mission to find a better way.
Raised in Cambridgeshire, Jason studied Computer Science at the University of York before returning to complete a Master’s at Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing. In 2021, at just 24 years old, he founded Cambridge Kinetics with a simple vision: to help small and mid-sized firms modernise their operations without the complexity and cost of big enterprise systems. That idea became Kinabase, an AI-powered platform designed to give SMEs a smarter middle ground between rigid one-size-fits-all tools and sprawling spreadsheets. The philosophy has always been clear: technology should support people, not make life harder.
The approach isn’t about flashy apps or overnight overhauls. Instead, it focuses on modernising without disruption, finding the sweet spot where new tools slip seamlessly into place. Many SMEs feel stuck between systems that don’t fit and spreadsheets that can’t scale, so the focus is on adapting technology step by step. Even teams with little IT experience find these changes approachable. “Start small” Jason often advises, knowing that quick wins build confidence and momentum.
The results speak for themselves. One Cambridgeshire charity had been struggling with time-consuming admin. Through Kinabase and the teams help, the impact was immediate: productivity jumped, services sped up and paper use fell sharply. They even avoided hiring an extra data-entry employee, freeing resources to focus on their mission. For the team, the change wasn’t just efficient, it restored confidence that systems could grow with them rather than hold them back.
Another example, a furniture manufacturer struggled with errors and delays cased by mismatched files and manual data entry. Working closely together, a unified system and a simple client portal were introduced, cutting out duplication and saving over ten hours a week. Orders were processed faster, accuracy improved and delivery times became more reliable. Staff could finally step away from endless spreadsheets and focus on customers, and even sales ticked up thanks to smoother approvals and happier clients.
Support from Innovate UK has strengthened this mission, enabling businesses not just to digitise processes but to unlock insights from their data. By getting information into a structured format in the first place, organisations can take advantage of AI and automations: spotting trends, improving decision-making and staying competitive in a fast-changing market.
Stories like these illustrate what digital transformation really means. It isn’t about buzzwords or replacing people, but about giving SMEs the tools to compete, freeing staff from repetitive tasks and creating space for innovation. Many digital projects fail not because of technology but because people are left behind. That’s why the emphasis is always on listening, involving staff early, and keeping solutions flexible enough to evolve as businesses grow.
Today, as a Board Director for Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, Jason is taking this message wider. By helping firms modernise their systems, he is not only solving immediate headaches, but also strengthening the county’s competitiveness. For him, the role is about giving back to the community that supported him. He represents a new generation of home-grown innovators, showing that tackling everyday frustrations can spark ideas with lasting impact.
For SMEs still glued together by “final-v3.xls” spreadsheets, the message is simple: there’s a better way. To see how other Cambridgeshire firms are working smarter, visit www.kinabase.com.