Where it all began

Swanson Reed’s story begins in 1984 with Joe William Norris, a retired engineer and inventor from General Motors. Following the closure of GM’s Australian assembly plant, which he had helped design, Joe began assisting friends with technical engineering reports for their Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims, grants, and patent applications, with the goal of helping them fund and protect their inventions for future profitability. He initially operated under his own name before adopting the trade name “Reed & Co.” in late 1984, a tribute to one of his earlier inventions, the “Reed diving board.” This invention, a lightweight cantilever diving board designed to improve athletic performance, was a personal success for Joe, made possible by a $75 prize won at the Reed Street Raffle, a monthly community event held at his workplace. As he often recalled, this modest sum was crucial in funding his prototype. Although Joe’s diving board never became a commercial success, he appreciated the process and went on to patent many other ideas.

Joe’s passion for supporting innovation was passed down to his grandson, Adam, who was deeply influenced by his grandfather’s frustrations regarding the obstacles people faced in documenting and commercializing their ideas. Adam’s professional goal, “to make funding accessible and efficient for as many people as possible,” is a direct reflection of Joe’s legacy.

Reed & Co. assisted the public with technical engineering reports for R&D tax credit claims, competitive grants, and patent applications until early 2008, when his wife Betty fell ill.

In June 2008, it seemed that Joe’s legacy was about to end.

Passing the baton

In late June 2008, Adam (now a mechanical engineer like his grandfather) saw an opportunity to merge the goodwill of Reed & Co. with his own experience in R&D tax credits, gained through his grandfather’s business and his work at Deloitte and PwC. Adam wanted to continue using the name “Reed,” but was unable to secure the top-level domain “reed.com,” so he expanded it into the more distinctive name Swanson Reed.

The extended name was a deliberate combination of Joe’s original trade name, “Reed,” and a street in Melbourne, Australia, called Swanston Street. After discovering he couldn’t obtain the “reed.com” domain, Adam found a solution while on Swanston Street, speaking on the phone with his future partner and CEO, Damian Smyth. Upon discovering that the domain “swanston.com” was also unavailable, Adam made the crucial decision to drop the “t,” giving birth to the unique brand “Swanson Reed.” In July 2008, Adam registered Swanson Reed’s first trademarks and web domains. In August 2008, Adam decided to focus the company exclusively on R&D tax credit preparation services, immediately discontinuing all technical report writing services related to competitive grant preparation and patent applications.

Navigating uncertain times

Between August 2008 and June 2009, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 hit hard, and Adam’s decision to change the company’s strategic direction—shifting from more generalized innovation consulting to a sole focus on R&D tax credit claim preparation—increasingly seemed like the wrong choice. Adam’s initial expansion into the United States and Western Australia suffered significant setbacks. The company faced serious funding issues, but Adam was determined to make it work without outside help. Adam’s reluctance toward debt stemmed directly from his grandfather Joe, who had always believed that bank loans or third-party funding caused conflicts of interest for professional services firms.

Swanson Reed generated absolutely no revenue from August 2008 to June 2009. At one point in early 2009, Adam was considering whether to close Swanson Reed or put it “on pause” so he could focus on paying his mortgage and avoid losing his home. Adam, recently married, was away from home for half the year for work reasons and was experiencing marital difficulties due to his absence and the financial stress of the business.

Realizing he could not manage Swanson Reed alone, Adam asked Damian to help him run the business. Damian became a full-time Partner in the firm between May and August 2009. Thanks to his involvement, Swanson Reed received payment from its first major client in September 2009 and, in the same month, hired its first employee. Without Damian’s involvement at that critical moment, Adam emphasized that Swanson Reed would have failed before the end of the year.

Expansion and global reach

Although Swanson Reed’s operations in the United States and Australia began simultaneously, the “Great Recession” pushed the company to focus on the more stable Australian market and currency until 2011.

With the recovery of the US economy, between 2011 and 2014, the company returned its focus to the United States, starting in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, the same region where Joe had spent much of his career.

A significant turning point occurred in 2014, when the R&D tax credit in the United States became permanent. This legislative change fueled substantial expansion, leading to the creation of the Swanson Reed Texas division in 2014. Between 2015 and 2018, the company expanded significantly across the United States.

Finally, in June 2018, Swanson Reed took a decisive step in the US market, winning a major contract with ADP (the largest payroll processing service provider in the US) to assist their clients with R&D tax credit preparation services. This contract helped Swanson Reed become a household name among CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) across America.

Further international growth followed: in 2017, Swanson Reed registered its first activities in the United Kingdom, and in 2018 expanded into Ireland, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand.

Today, Swanson Reed operates in all OECD countries and employs over 60 people.

Our core belief

From the beginning, we have always believed that we are the best service providers for the R&D tax credit because “we do one thing, and we do it better than anyone else because that is all we do.”