Tim Smith, Founder and CEO of HeartCert, was interviewed on the Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.
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In a recent interview with Adam Torres, Tim Smith discusses how HeartCert is training people to save lives with CPR, first aid and other skills while also helping trainers with a new software platform.
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What mission matters to you?
Smith’s focus, he says, has always been helping people. “I wanted to do something that I’m passionate about and that contributes to making the world a better place,” he explains. “HeartCert offers quality, affordable and accessible life-saving training which prepares more individuals to act in case of an emergency. We’re building a base to teach people how to help others and better communities.”
How did the entrepreneurship journey begin?
“While working as a personal care attendant, I found joy and satisfaction in helping people,” Smith says. “To pursue my passion further, I became an EMT and a firefighter, and that led to becoming a CPR instructor.” As his expertise grew, he realized there was a gap in basic and advanced safety training for the public. With the support of those around him, including his wife, parents and close friends, he brought HeartCert into existence to serve the training needs of his community.
What were the biggest challenges along the way?
Embarking on an entrepreneurial journey is difficult, Smith notes, especially since many people are risk-averse. “Trying to figure out next steps and efficient operations can be challenging,” he says, “but employing good people and utilizing effective processes with advanced technology has always helped us on our journey.”
For Smith, the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges of its own while also shining a light on the gap between the demand for CPR training and the lack of training providers.
“People needed help, there was a huge need for childcare workers, nurses and healthcare providers, but with everything shut down, it was even more difficult for those essential workers to find the training they needed to be able to get (or keep) a position to help others. We had to adapt to fill this need. We utilized online training modules, developed our software program and with a lot of long days and nights I turned my garage into a shipping station to be able to mail CPR equipment to certify individuals virtually.
Luckily, that level of perseverance paid off and now HeartCert has a nationwide reach with their “CPR to your Door” manikin and class delivery service, along with starting up Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training courses.
How does HeartCert train the public and instructors?
“Our team organizes training sessions for individuals and organizations looking to get certification,” Smith explains. “We send course videos and other resources via email, and (trainees) take quizzes and written tests online before coming in for a safe skill session for certification. The same goes for classroom learners; however, it takes more time.”
For prospective or current CPR instructors, training is more robust, setting them up for long-term success as they begin sharing the fruits of their own training with students. “Along with teaching CPR, advanced training and nursing courses, we also provide assistance to begin the entrepreneurial journey through our exciting software platform, MyTASystem, a virtual personal teaching assistant,” Smith says. “It allows instructors to take online registrations and payments, streamlines workflows, automates emails and other communications, tracks records, provides reports, manages payroll, and takes over website tasks so that instructors can focus solely on doing what they love, training, rather than overwhelming administrative business tasks.”
What’s next for you and HeartCert?
Having launched from Smith’s living room and since expanding into multiple states around the US, Smith says he looks forward to opening up more HeartCert training centers, continuing to recruit more instructors to meet demand and expanding their instructor assistant platform, MyTASystem.
HeartCert makes basic and advanced life-support training available to a broad swath of individuals, from new parents, teachers and coaches to nurses, healthcare providers and anyone who wants to be a potentially life-saving resource for those around them.
To learn more about HeartCert, visit heartcertcpr.com or MyTASystem.com to learn about their new software platform that helps trainers.
