R&D News & Events

How Jumpstart's clients and analysts gave up their time to support the best Olympics ever

One of the really inspiring memories of the London 2012 Olympic Games will certainly be the way everyone in the UK pulled together to make the festival of sport such a resounding success. And Jumpstart, one of Britain's most dynamic companies, was proud to play its part with both its own business analysts and clients joining the thousands of people who gave up their time to help, from the stunning British history-themed Opening Ceremony to the closing Symphony of British Music.

Brian Williamson, managing director of Jumpstart, which advises clients on R&D tax credit submissions, said: "This willingness to make a once-in-a-lifetime event really special typifies the energy and enthusiasm of our business analysts and the imagination and inventiveness of our clients."

Leading the business analysts - Jumpstart's highly specialised team which mines into clients' processes to understand and complete successful submissions to HMRC - was David Batten. He took part in the stunning Danny Boyle-directed Opening Ceremony in which the rural idyll of England's green and pleasant land was dramatically transformed into the dark satanic mills as huge smoking chimneys rose up through the arena. David said: "I was one of the people who marched on in grimy old working clothes and a sooty face. We had to carry off rolls of turf as the scenes changed, so it was quite hard work - but great fun and a tremendous experience."

Business analyst Charles Nishikawa took a different route by using his excellent language skills. He served as an official volunteer of language services in the Excel Arena, covering seven different sports, including boxing. Charles was asked to conduct several broadcast interviews with athletes and was roped in to manage the East Asian language team consisting of a group of Japanese, Chinese and Korean interpreters. He said: "It really was great fun, especially since I was so close to the action, which meant that I was able to speak to, and interview, the athletes immediately after their matches."

The athletes, naturally, are a hungry lot and Jumpstart client Peter Millen, managing director of Speciality Breads was tasked with providing artisan bread to more than 14,000 athletes from 205 Olympic teams and 170 Paralympic teams at the London 2012 Games. His firm had to qualify for the prestigious Red Tractor logo - only companies which meet rigorously-enforced high standards are allowed to use it - in order to be considered as an Olympic supplier. He said: "We proudly support the Red Tractor Scheme. All our breads are made with flour milled from 100% British Wheat."

Another client, Cardiff-based Bay Productions, which has more than 20 years' experience of scenery production, was called on by the Olympic organisers to create the barn and the cottage in the English pastoral scene at the Opening Ceremony which took everyone's breath away when the lights went up. Bay Productions, which offers a world class service to the opera, theatre, TV and film industry, works from scale models and drawings to the construction of the finished product. Peter Jones, of Bay Productions, said: "Our staff have worked over the years with world renowned designers and the biggest production companies, but being involved in the Olympics - and on our own turf - was very special."

Brian Williamson, whose analysts are typically educated to PhD level and in many cases beyond, said: "My favourite moment was when the Olympic torch was lit and it rose up into a brilliant tower of flame.

"I don't know how much heat it gave out, but I'm ready to bet it didn't have as many degrees as our analysts."

Posted on Friday, 24th August, 2012