Of hockey sticks, success and a zebra called Debra

Ten years ago, the R&D tax relief environment was almost unrecognisable. Compared to today when everyone and their dog seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, there weren’t many providers at all. A few of the big accountancy firms had heard about it, but even they didn’t know enough to really give their clients the proper advice. We did. So in some ways, you could say we kick-started the R&D tax relief industry, probably in the UK, and certainly in Scotland.

That’s really down to one of the other founders, Dr Stuart Wyse. We knew each other from school and had kept in touch, even after Stuart emigrated to Canada. Through his connections, Stuart realised that R&D tax relief was a big thing over there; much more advanced than in the UK at the time. He got to thinking there might be an opening in the market back here in Scotland where he still had family, and friends of course. At the time, I was moving on from Whitespace, a design agency I had co-founded 10 years earlier. Stuart, his nephew – Richard Edwards – and I got talking and together we took the giant leap of faith to set up a company specialising in R&D tax relief in Scotland’s central belt.

When we started, it was just the three of us – me and Richard in Edinburgh and Stuart in Canada, who we spoke with daily and met every quarter. Through the contacts I’d made over the years and the people they knew, we started picking up quite few clients; enough to reveal the potential of what we had created.

Within six months we had a dozen clients and not long after that took on our first employee, Karen, whose background was in IT systems. Having a technical training is crucial to what we do, so from that point onwards we’ve always insisted on our Technical Analysts, TAs for short, having a PhD or equivalent industry-recognised qualification. That way, they talk the same language as our clients and understand what they’re trying to achieve with their R&D.

I think what spurred me on the most was, after speaking with Stuart, understanding what the R&D tax relief programme could do for companies in terms of bringing in money. Knowing that we’d be helping companies and that, in some cases, a successful R&D tax relief claim could be the difference between make or break was a huge incentive. Yes, we might have joked with companies about filling their fridges with champagne, but back then it was really about helping companies stay afloat and go on to greater things.

As for what kept us going… we really did start with nothing, so had to invest our own money in the business. For the first year, we didn’t take a salary although we were paying rent on the office as well as paying back loans. We plugged on regardless, confident in the knowledge that if you know you’re doing the right thing it will work, eventually.

Within three years we’d grown from three to 12 people, so we knew clients valued our unique approach. Because of the nature of R&D tax relief – the mention of ‘tax’ and filling in forms – there was a common misconception that it was an accountancy-thing. But, fundamentally, it’s not. R&D tax relief is about technology and that’s where we as a company stood – and still stand – apart.

Then things really took off and we started that hockey stick-shaped ascent you hope for, taking on lots more people and swapping our cramped attic space for a four-storey office building. That was around the time Jumpstart was voted Scotland’s fastest growing small company. We’ve kept growing ever since and are now a 50-strong team.

Though you hope for it, growth is a challenge, and managing that growth. Bringing in people from very different sectors and encouraging them to collectively work as one can be quite daunting. That’s why the company culture and environment we work in are so important. How many other companies have a zebra in reception? We also do our best to keep everyone motivated, whether that’s by sending them on courses so they can stay abreast of the latest developments in their sector or the waft of bacon rolls on a Friday morning.

Staff getting headhunted – that’s another challenge! People in the industry know that if you’ve been through the Jumpstart Academy you’re good at what you do. Which means we’ve trained up quite a few of the big accountancy firms’ advisers too. Interestingly, we’ve never tried to poach a TA from a competitor; it’s always the other way around.

Getting to where we are today is a big achievement, so we have a series of events planned throughout the year… everything from gin tastings with clients to a big staff party. It might sound obvious, but without our staff there wouldn’t be any Jumpstart. And while I’ve talked a lot about TAs, it’s important to realise that they’re supported by a great team in finance, marketing and so on. Everyone in the company plays their part in making it work.

I’d say there are two. One is the millions of pounds we’ve put back into British industry over the last decade, throughout the whole of the UK. That’s money companies can use to employ more people, fund further R&D or do whatever they want with.

The other big achievement, in my mind, is all the people we’ve employed over the years. Whether they’ve joined us straight from university or after a career change, we’ve provided them with an opportunity and a vehicle to earn their livelihoods.

Throughout all my years in business, it’s that your staff are your most important asset. Because if they walk out the door at 5.30 and don’t come back the next morning, you don’t really have anything. That’s why you have to make the environment your staff work in and the work they do as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible.

I’d like to thank Stuart for coming up with the idea. Without him, Jumpstart wouldn’t have happened. Brian Williamson, our former MD and now non-executive director, has also played a huge part in transforming us from a viable business into a very successful one.

Thanks too to our new MD – Scott Henderson – and the rest of the management team for rising to the challenge of making Jumpstart just as successful over the next decade. Think how many more millions of pounds we will have ploughed back into British industry by then.