We recently connected with Darren Sudman and have shared our conversation below.

Darren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The company is called Unless. It comes from a quote in my favorite bedtime story, The Lorax. At the end of the book, the villain pleads with a little boy. He says “unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better it’s not.”

I started hearing this lesson almost fifty years ago. I’m positive it has led me throughout my career in the law, business and the nonprofit sector. Today, my company helps businesses create social impact programs.

Darren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I went to law school to become a public interest lawyer. I interned on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, but never landed the job. Had I been a little more confident and wise, I would have blazed my own path with my law degree. I practiced for a few years and then left law to work at America Online. I saw the impact a company could have on society. AOL raised millions of dollars selling the swag of celebrities and athletes on its online store. A few years later, and well before corporate social responsibility was a topic, I helped launch a program called KivaB4B between Advanta, a small business credit card company, and Kiva, a microfinancing nonprofit. It was so authentic and perfectly aligned.

Around the same time, my second child, Simon, was taking a nap and didn’t wake up. Our pediatrician told us to get our hearts checked because babies don’t just die. My wife, Phyllis, was diagnosed with a heart condition that has been linked to sudden infant death (SIDS) and the sudden death of student athletes. We always thought sudden cardiac arrest was an adult thing. We never wanted another parent to lose a child to a detectable and treatable heart condition.

Simon’s Heart is now in its 17th year. It has provided free heart screenings to almost 19,000 students, helping almost 150 discover heart conditions. It has helped pass laws in sixteen states to educate student athletes, parents and coaches about the risks and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. It’s educational training video has been seen by over one million coaches in all fifty states. It has distributed over 200 automated external defibrillators through GotAED, a crowdfunding website. It brought the CPR Jukebox to music festivals and community fairs to teach kids about chest compressions using music and red kick balls. It has partnered with brands like Speedo, Wheels Up, Scrub Daddy and collegiate and professional sports teams to raise awareness.

I served as full time executive director for eight years. Recently, we hired a new executive director and I started working with companies to create social impact programs. This is the culmination of my passion and work experience.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve become a fan of affirmations. At first, they feel really goofy. It is hard not to imagine Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) mocking the practice on Saturday Night Live. One of my affirmations is “I will stop telling myself what others think about me, and just start listening to what others are saying.” The voice in my head has been the biggest obstacle throughout my career. A friend affectionately refers to this as head trash. Learning that I could ignore this voice and change the narrative took a very long time, but it has made such impact on my outlook and approach to business and life.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I am a huge fan of Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani. He came to this country as an immigrant and used an SBA loan to buy a decrepit dairy factory in upstate New York to make yogurt. In fifteen years, he became the most popular and profitable greek yogurt in the United States, gave part of his company away to his employees, made a commitment to hire refugees and immigrants and revitalized two towns (NY and ID). He built his business on purpose, values and mission and nobody can compete. I think he is the epitome of an effective CEO. His TED Talk is well worth the listen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.unless.one
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/darren-sudman
• Other: www.simonsheart.org