TWU alumnus and ACTS Seminaries professor Randy Wollf (’90, ‘94) started a document editing business in 2008 called PaperLift, during a time when he and his wife were church-planting missionaries.
The decision to start this business came as a result of needing to raise support for their missionary work.
When he first thought of starting his own business, an editing company seemed like the perfect choice.
Randy felt God placing it on his heart to put the entirety of his profits toward projects that would better humanity in some way, both locally and
around the world.
“I’ve always had an eye for detail and I enjoy editing documents,” says Randy. “My dad is a business guy and that naturally caused me to start thinking along those lines.”
Within weeks of launching PaperLift, many customers came to him in need of his services. After a few months of this, PaperLift had grown to the point that Randy hired an editor to help.
“In those days, there weren’t as many online editing companies. I could put something on Google Adwords and get pretty instant results,” explains Randy. “PaperLift became a pretty important way to supplement our income while we did mission work.”
“The fun part was asking: now where should the money go? I have a heart for education and wanted to help in that field. But there was also the humanitarian piece. There are so many needs in the world.”
New growth and an unexpected challenge
The company continued to grow over time, and Randy found himself handing off more of the actual editing to other people so he could focus on running the company and pursuing his other work. Things took a dramatic turn in 2017, however, when Randy was at a workshop for social enterprises at MissionsFest and was challenged by one of the speakers.
“I was sitting there and this guy was explaining how you could turn your business into a social enterprise,” explains Randy. “At that point, I had been tithing a portion of the profits, but this workshop challenged me and really raised the bar.”
In this moment, Randy felt God placing it on his heart to put the entirety of his profits toward projects that would better humanity in some way, both locally and around the world.
“The fun part was asking: now where should the money go?” says Randy. “I have a heart for education and wanted to help in that field. But there was also the humanitarian piece. There are so many needs in the world.”
Supporting students
Back in 2011, Randy had started as a full-time professor at ACTS Seminaries. In that time, he’d had many wonderful students who had gone on to become missionaries of their own or get involved in non-profits. Randy decided this would be a good place to start, so he began to support them.
This semester saw another first for Randy, who decided to provide internships to students on campus.
“I created three job descriptions. A Media Production intern, a Website Developer, and an Innovation and Strategic Developer,” explains Randy. “I spoke with Ruth Anaya and now have two SAMC students doing their practicum with me this year.”
It is his hope to continue offering this kind of support to students in the days ahead.
This semester saw another first for Randy, who decided to provide internships to students on campus.
The power of editing
Randy says that one of the most important roles he has on the editing side of his work is in the area of empowering people. In his experience, a lot of people have great ideas but for various reasons struggle to convey those and their ideas get lost. Through providing editorial support, Randy is able to use PaperLift to come alongside and empower people to have their voices heard and their message communicated clearly.
“Even though from the outside it may look like my editing work is separate from the global social enterprise part, I see empowerment as the theme that is over it all,” says Randy. “Empowering people to find work, get education, and become leaders in their communities.”
Through providing editorial support, Randy is able to use PaperLift to come alongside and empower people to have their voices heard and their message communicated clearly.
As Randy looks to the future, he hopes to be able to continue to use his company to bless students and to support humanitarian efforts around the globe.
If you’d like to learn more about Randy and PaperLift, visit his website: https://paperlift.com/
PaperLift offers a 10% discount to TWU alumni on all document editing with the promo code TWU. All PaperLift’s profits go toward educational, humanitarian, and other people-helping projects. You can follow @paperliftglobal on Instagram for other deals and free giveaways.
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About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.
Words by Jonathan Fehr ('09) Director of Alumni Engagement and Communications.