BRIAN Williamson has spent the last two decades of his career as an entrepreneur, "cycling in and out of businesses".

But for first time in 20 years, his gaze is not fixed squarely on the exit.

Mr Williamson, a mechanical engineer who rose through the ranks at Weir Pumps in Glasgow with Jim McColl, is in no hurry to cash in his chips at Jumpstart.

And it is partly because he and his fellow directors realise that building a business and having fun need not be mutually exclusive.

"Before, I would always be looking at 'how do I get in, how do I get out?'" said the executive, who joined the business that secures research and development (R&D) tax relief for companies in 2009. "Whereas with Jumpstart, I realised when I got involved that we could build this business and have fun.

"If it ends up in an exit it ends up in an exit, but it won't be an exit for the business. It will be because it is time for someone else to take the reins from me or my fellow directors."

Jumpstart, which operates from a townhouse in Edinburgh's west end, has helped secure £47 million in R&D relief for its clients since starting up in 2008.

With statistics suggesting that only 15 per cent of eligible firms are applying for the incentive, it sees the potential for plenty more where that came from.

The latest figures show HMRC paid out £1.4 billion in relief, up from £1.2bn the year before.

While the value of claims by SMEs rose by 39.5 per cent, the amount distributed to large companies (with 500 staff or more) fell by two cent to £780m.

"If you look at the figures which came out from HMRC last week, [they] show there has been a 26 per cent increase in claims across the UK," Mr Williamson said. "So there is definitely an increased awareness, and we see this trend continuing."

And part of building that awareness is convincing companies they are eligible.

Mr Williamson says the benefit is not only open to firms with labs and boffins in white coats.

"This about rewarding companies for the technical challenges they overcome," he explained.

Changes have recently been made within Jumpstart to capitalise on the growing demand for its services.

In February, the company secured a £3.4m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), which took a minority stake in the business as part of the deal.

And its first move was to add two heavyweight non-executive directors to the board.

Advertising veteran Jim Faulds joined as chairman and David Evans as non-executive director, with the BGF's Patrick Graham also coming on board.

Jumpstart had grown rapidly with no external investment until that point. But Mr Williamson said the injection had allowed it to become "really adventurous" while enjoying the safety net provided by the BGF.

He noted the funding meant it could "strengthen the board with experienced people that can challenge your strategy and your thinking".

"The benefit was that we got added value in, smart money, people coming to the table with gravitas and experience that a small business like us probably would not get exposure to," he said.

Since then the board has put in place the building blocks for a new structure, to take advantage of the many leads coming its way.

It has just recruited a new sales director, Kevin Dixon, and is in the process of assembling a directly employed sales team for the first time.

Until now the 47 staff it has taken on have been self-employed, a strategy driven by the fact it can take the firm nearly eight months to secure relief for its clients.

Each of those staff have been hand-picked for their qualifications, whether in IT, product design, manufacturing or engineering, and trained in the legislation at the Jumpstart Academy. Those staff will remain in place alongside the directly employed sales team.

"That was a good, low-cost market entry strategy, because we didn't have to pay any of them until we got paid," Mr Williamson said. "So we sacrificed margin for the benefit of cash.

"Where we are now is that we will always have these people, but we need to augment [them with] people who can afford to employ longer-term strategies."

And he is happy to report the business did not "dip" as might be anticipated during the recent investment phase, although its growth rate did drop to about 10 per cent from the 60 to 70 per cent it was previously enjoying. "So we are now on the surge back up again," Mr Williamson said.

"We've got lots of really interesting partnerships with bodies developing.

"For us there is a big opportunity. As we said at our last exec meeting, it is scarily exciting."

Mr Williamson joined Jumpstart about a year after he first spoke to founders Stuart Wyse, Donald Galloway and Richard Edwards about becoming involved.

Mr Wyse, who has a PhD in chemistry, had tasted success with a similar venture in Canada, and had the idea to repeat the trick in the UK. Canada, which has run its scheme since 1986, remains the "benchmark" to which the 42 countries now running schemes aspire.

The four personalities each bring something different to the table.

Mr Galloway is fondly known as the artist because of his brand image expertise, while Mr Edwards, the operations director, is known as the mathematician thanks to the software engineering skills he acquired in the Royal Navy.

Mr Williamson was brought on board for his entrepreneurial nous.

"When I met them we did a bit of courting over a year to really make sure we'd all fit together," he said.

"In the early days it was like being hand-cuffed to a rocket! It was great fun because you effectively have nothing to lose - it is kind of a low-risk environment.

"You are only betting with your time, and if you can afford to give time, really there is no stakes."

Mr Williamson, who is nearing 59, is an engaging and inspiring interviewee, as befits a man with a long and varied business pedigree.

He joined Weir after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University's mechanical engineering sandwich programme in 1976.

By the time he was 21 he was a member of its supervisory team, before leaving at 26 to take on senior roles in engineering firms such as Cochranes (Bo'ness), Hayward Tyler (two spells), and Torbrex Engineering.

He then found himself being "pushed into becoming an entrepreneur" in 1994, when his second spell with Hayward Tyler came to an end.

His departure was sparked by moves to consolidate the firm's East Kilbride factory into its operation base Luton, having previously turned the South Lanarkshire site into the group's best performer.

"I was party to the discussions about the joining of the two," Mr Williamson said.

"Once it was confirmed there was going to be a consultation I felt there was only ever going to be one conclusion.

"I stated early on to my boss that I will work and do what I can, but I'm not coming with the new venture, that's for sure."

He then went to join Birmingham-based Eurotech Industries, which manufactured components for the automotive industry.

While at this company he had the opportunity to return to Scotland. He spun out an embryonic division of Eurotech focused on oil and gas and petrochemical services, opening branches in Stirling and Aberdeen.

Mr Williamson eventually sold this business to its management team, by which time had become known as "go to" man for new companies struggling to reach their potential. The Bethany Group, renamed The Learning Organisation after he staged a management buyout, was a further example.

This entrepreneur may have spent the past two decades cycling in and out of businesses, but there is no sign of him getting on his bike again just yet.