Answer Capsule: What is the history of Swanson Reed?

Swanson Reed was originally founded in 1984, providing a broad, multi-disciplinary array of technical services. For over two decades, the firm built a strong foundation in general business advisory. However, recognizing a critical and highly underserved market need for specialized technical tax expertise, Our Story took a definitive turn. In 2008, Swanson Reed made the strategic decision to shed all other service lines and pivot to focusing exclusively on Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits. Today, this singular dedication allows us to provide unmatched technical substantiation, audit defense, and specialized software to innovators worldwide.

• 1984 Foundation: Established as a broad technical advisory.
• The 2008 Strategic Pivot: Transitioned from a generalist model to a 100% exclusive focus on R&D tax credit preparation and audit defense.
• Unmatched Specialization: By doing one thing exclusively, we bridge the complex gap between tax legislation and engineering with absolute precision and independence.

Where It All Began

Swanson Reed dates back to 1984, originating with Joe William Norris, a retired General Motors engineer and inventor. Following the closure of the GM Australian assembly plant, which he had helped design, Joe began helping friends with technical engineering reports for their R&D tax concession, grant and patent applications with the aim to help fund and secure their inventions for future profitability. He initially operated under his own name before adopting the trading name “Reed & Co.” in late 1984, a tribute to one of his earlier inventions, the “Reed diving board.” This invention, a lightweight, cantilevered diving board designed to enhance athletic performance, was a personal success for Joe, made possible by a $75 prize that he won in the Reed Street Raffle, a monthly community event run at his place of employment. As he often recalled, this modest sum, was instrumental in funding his prototype. Although, Joe’s diving board never became a commercial success, he enjoyed 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 barriers people faced in documenting and commercializing their ideas. Adam’s professional purpose, “making funding accessible and efficient to as many people as possible” is a direct reflection of Joe’s legacy.

Reed & Co. assisted the general public with technical engineering reports for R&D tax credit claims and competive grant and patent applications until early 2008 when Joe’s wife, Betty became ill.

By June 2008, it looked like Joe’s legacy was about to end.

Passing the Torch

In late June 2008, Adam (now a mechanical engineer like his Grandfather), saw an opporunity to merge the goodwill of Reed & Co. with his expertise in R&D tax credits that he gained from his grandfathers business as well as working at Deloitte and PwC.  Adam wanted to continue using the name “Reed” but was unable to secure the Top Level Domain name “reed.com”, so instead expanded it to the more unique name called, Swanson Reed.

The expanded name was a deliberate combination of Joe’s original trading name, “Reed,” and a street in Melbourne, Australia, called Swanston Street. Adam, found the solution while he was walking up Swanston Street and talking on the phone to his future business partner and CEO, Damian Smyth. After discovering that the domain “swanston.com” was also unavailable, Adam made the pivotal decision to drop the “t,” leading to the unique brand name of “Swanson Reed”. In July 2008, Adam applied for Swanson Reed’s first trademarks and website domains.  In August 2008, Adam made the decision to exclusively focus the firm in R&D tax credit preparation services, and immediately stop all technical report writing services relating to competive grant preparation and patent applications.

Navigating through uncertain times

Between August 2008 and June 2009, the 2008-2009 global financial crisis hit hard and Adam’s decision to change the strategic direction of the firm from a more generalised innovation consulting strategy to one that exclusively focuses on R&D tax credit claim preparation was looking more and more like a poor decision.  Adam’s initial expansion into the U.S and Western Australia was set back significantly. The firm was having major issues with funding but Adam was determined to make it work without any external help.  Adam’s reluctance to debt was directly acquired by his grandfather, Joe who was always believed bank loans or funding from third parties caused conflicts of interest to professional services firms.

Swanson Reed made absolutely no revenue from August 2008 until June 2009. At one point in early 2009, Adam was exploring options to either close down Swanson Reed or put it “on hold” so that he could focus on paying his mortgage and ensure he did not loose his house. Adam, recently married, was away from home travelling for work half of the year and was having marriage difficulties due to his absence and his firm’s financial stress.

Adam, after discovering he could not run Swanson Reed on his own, called on Damian to help him manage the business. Damian transitioned to become a full-time Partner of the firm between May and August 2009.  Thanks to his involvement, Swanson Reed got paid its first major client in September 2009 and later that month, hired its first employee. Without Damian’s involvement at this critical time, Adam noted that Swanson Reed would have failed by year end.

Expansion and Global Reach

While Swanson Reed’s operations in both the U.S. and Australia began concurrently, the great recession prompted the firm to concentrate on the more stable Australian market and currency until 2011.

With the recovery of the U.S. economy, between 2011 and 2014, the firm shifted its focus back to the United States, starting in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the same area where Joe had spent much of his career.

A significant turning point occurred in 2014 when the U.S. R&D tax credit was made permanent. This legislative change fueled remarkable expansion that resulted in the establishment of the Swanson Reed Texas division in 2014.  Between 2015 and 2018 the firm expanded significantly in the United States.

Finally, in June 2018, Swanson Reed made a major breakthrough in the U.S market, by winning a large contract with ADP (the largest payroll provider in the U.S) to assist its clients with R&D tax credit preparation services.  This contract helped Swanson Reed to become a household name with CPAs across America.

Further international growth followed: in 2017, Swanson Reed registered its first U.K. operations, and in 2018, it expanded into Ireland, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand.

Today, Swanson Reed operates in seven countries and has employs over 100 people.

Our Core Belief

We believe we are the best R&D tax credit service provider because “we do one thing, and we do it better than anyone else because it is all we do.”