Lager: Why I quit my cushy job for a broke startup

It’s 4:03 a.m. My bedroom is still dark and the late August heat leaves me little need for a blanket.

Lager, left, and his co-founder Brent Lobdell

I lay here wide-awake, arms crossed behind my head on a pillow that’s too thin, while the rest of the world sleeps in deep peacefulness. I hear nothing, save for the wind occasionally singing outside my window.

Oh, and there’s also that loud voice in my head that won’t shut up.

“What in the hell are you doing?” 

I’ve heard this doubt before: as a teenager asking out my first crush; as a college student fighting through the haze of my capstone; as a jobless reporter trying to claw my way up through a callous profession.

But this time it’s different. This time I don’t have an answer.

Over two-and-a-half years ago, I started a nonprofit with my close friend Brent Lobdell. The volunteer bug had stung us and after months of community service, we saw a gap in our society.

[pullquote]“When doubt questions what in the hell I’m doing, I now have an answer. I’m chasing my dream.”[/pullquote]

The Call Kansas City was born out of the idea that volunteerism should be easier than it currently is. Our organization is striving to build a community service renaissance right here in Kansas City — and hopefully one day all over the world — where volunteerism is not an after-thought, but a part of our daily lives.

The Call recruits and schedules volunteers with charities around the metro so that all volunteers have to do show up and serve. Since 2013, we’ve helped 56 different charities recruit nearly 2,000 volunteers rack up over 5,000 service hours. Our dream is starting to be realized.

Yet, in the wee hours of August, these are not the numbers racing through my head. Instead, I see $500 for rent, $75 for insurance, $200 for student loans; and I hear one, distinct voice.

“What in the hell are you doing?” 

While The Call KC has experienced success, the organization still goes unfunded, which is a major problem since full-time employees are now desperately needed. So much so that this past summer I decided to leave my job to concentrate solely on The Call KC and its search for funding.

I gave up personal wealth, benefits and security in return for debt, stress and instability — all in the name of charity.

I say this not for admiration, esteem or even pity. Instead, I state it to highlight what it takes to be a social entrepreneur: faith, hard work and above all else, passion. It’s a first-hand experience and I don’t know how long its lessons will sustain this organization or even me.

But what I do know is this: when doubt questions what in the hell I’m doing, I now have an answer. I’m chasing my dream.

Brent Lager is co-founder of The Call Kansas City. He is passionate about community service, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.