"They spend literally millions per annum on data entry and data automation." Narmeen Kazmi heard this from her textile client and couldn't stop thinking about it. Teams waste hours fetching data, cleaning spreadsheets, and manually entering purchase orders. Deadlines approaching while people copy information from PDFs into databases. She looked for existing tools. Found some. But none were accurate enough. The project fell apart. They relied on manual processes plus whatever partial automation they could find. Then came the hackathon.

In this episode of Lead with AI, host Dr. Tamara Nall speaks with Narmeen, Founder and Project Manager at Datrix, about turning a client frustration into an AI-powered solution that automates the paperwork monster hiding in every company.

AI Developer to Accidental Founder  

Narmeen has worked in tech for three years, starting as an AI developer before discovering she's an extrovert at heart. She moved into client management and project management, becoming a solution architect bridging developers and clients. That position gave her visibility into a problem most pure developers never see: the massive time drain of data organization. Working with a huge textile client supplying Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo, Narmeen was building AI automation for their merchandiser. But a huge chunk of time disappeared into data tasks. Fetching information. Asking for clean data. Organizing it for different purposes. Deadlines were tight. The data chaos was eating their schedule. "Why don't we use a data pipeline or something that can automate the AI data entry process?" Narmeen suggested. She went hunting for existing tools. Found several. But accuracy wasn't where it needed to be. The project couldn't rely on them. Back to manual processes with partial tool assistance. That failure stuck with her. When a friend mentioned a hackathon happening soon, Narmeen recruited two other developer friends. "Let's build what I couldn't find," she proposed. They created an MVP. It worked remarkably well.

How Datrix Actually Works  ?

Datrix is a web SaaS platform targeting the most common business pain point: purchase orders and receipts arriving via email that need manual entry into databases. You log into Datrix like any web application. Connect it to Gmail using a secure code (Gmail's security requires this approach—Datrix's team helps with setup). Then connect to your data source. Currently that's Airtable, with more integrations planned. Once connected, an AI agent activates. It monitors your email for purchase orders, receipts, invoices—any PDFs containing data that needs database entry. When documents arrive, the agent reads them. Then it accesses your database, pulls the schema (column names and structure), and matches information intelligently.

The matching uses vector conversion—translating text into mathematical representations. If your database has a column called "customer name," the AI converts that to vectors. Then it scans the PDF for similar vectors. When it finds a match, it extracts the value (let's say "Narmeen") and inputs it correctly. No human opening documents. No copy-pasting. No manual data entry. The AI handles it. For historical documents, Datrix offers a chatbot interface. Drag and drop old PDFs, Word documents, or CSV files. The agent performs the same schema-matching process and populates your database with backlog data.

The Sticky Note Dashboard  

Narmeen wanted data analysis to feel approachable, not intimidating. She designed the analytics dashboard around an insight: women often use bulletin boards with sticky notes to track important information. Instead of lengthy reports, Datrix generates insights as sticky notes. Ask the chatbot, "What's the sales forecast for ABC product?" and receive a bar chart or pie chart on a customizable sticky note. Make it bigger or smaller. Add multiple sticky notes for different metrics. Rearrange them. Delete outdated ones. Preparing for a presentation? Prompt the system with questions, collect sticky notes with relevant data, arrange them visually, and you have a dashboard customized for your needs. Point-by-point information instead of overwhelming reports.

The Harsh Critic Test  

Narmeen's first real-world test was risky: her father. He owns a construction chemical company. He's extremely nitpicky—Narmeen calls him a "huge critique" diplomatically.

She asked to test Datrix on his purchase orders. When the AI accurately processed orders and populated the database correctly, even her harsh-critic father was impressed. Encouraged, Narmeen approached a local bakery, "Want to try this for free? We're looking for feedback." They tested it for two days. Came back happy with the results. Also provided valuable feature requests: more database integrations, additional analysis capabilities. Then Narmeen promoted Datrix on TikTok and Twitter during the hackathon. Without active customer acquisition, over 50 people joined the waitlist. After initial testing, they stopped signups to focus on perfecting the product.

Why This Simple Idea Gave Her Goosebumps  

The "wild moment" for Narmeen came when email integration finally worked. They tried dummy purchase orders. The system accurately added everything to the database. That's when she realized the scale of opportunity. Her textile client had mentioned spending millions annually on data entry. This simple solution could save enormous amounts of money and time. "Why did nobody think of this by now?" she wondered.

"When I say I want to bring change to the world, I don't mean flying cars and transparent houses," Narmeen explains. "I want to make life simpler, generally. Like how the chair was invented—people used to sit on floors with cushions, then somebody thought, why not a chair? Simple, but so useful and powerful." That simplicity gave her goosebumps. Not because Datrix uses cutting-edge AI architecture. Because it solves a massive problem with straightforward application of existing technology.

Ethics: No Training on Your Data  

Data entry automation raises obvious privacy concerns. Client data flows through the system. How does Datrix protect it?

Narmeen deliberately avoids reinforcement learning—the process where AI models learn from data they process. "We do not want client data going into public LLMs," she states firmly. Instead, Datrix uses a pipeline approach. The AI takes data and inputs it without learning from it. It's implementation and processing, not training. The vector-matching system doesn't require learning your specific data patterns. It just matches structural similarities between your database schema and document content. For international expansion, Narmeen is studying compliance requirements, certifications, and cybersecurity integrations needed for different markets. But the foundational principle remains: client data stays client data.

Who Needs Datrix  ?

Currently, Datrix targets retail businesses—anyone selling or purchasing goods with customers and orders flowing through email. Textiles, food, electronics. If you receive purchase orders via email and maintain a database, you're the target customer. Sole proprietors selling on TikTok? If you have a database and orders come via email, Datrix works for you. The platform intentionally starts with smaller businesses, planning to move upscale to enterprise level as the product matures. Right now, Datrix only integrates with Gmail because they're perfecting features before expanding. Dr. Nall highlighted this as a smart strategy: perfect the most widely used tool first, work through issues, then expand to other email platforms like Outlook.

The Future Built on Simplicity  

Datrix represents something important in AI development: not every breakthrough requires novel algorithms or massive compute. Sometimes, innovation is recognizing a widespread problem and applying existing technology elegantly. Millions spent annually on manual data entry. Hours wasted copying information from emails to spreadsheets. Deadlines threatened by data organization chaos. The problem existed in plain sight. Three friends at a hackathon built the solution in days. Now 50+ businesses want it. That's the power of simplicity applied to real pain points.

Want to automate your data entry chaos? Visit Datrix to join the waitlist and discover how AI can eliminate manual purchase order processing, organize receipts automatically, and turn email chaos into clean database entries.

For more insights on how AI is transforming business and society, subscribe to the Lead with AI podcast, where we explore the frontiers of artificial intelligence with the innovators who are shaping its development.

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Connect with Narmeen Kazmi: LinkedIn: @Narmeen-Kazmi | Website: Datrix.App