GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Kompound Cafe opened its doors just months ago, on Black Friday, and like any other business, the owners view the 2025 NFL Draft as a big opportunity.
"I know for the draft, it's coming up in a few months, we just want to get more eyeballs on not only the coffee shop, but we've got a couple other tenants coming in," said Co-Owner Kaylor Zimmerman.
Enter the MyDraft Experience, an idea created by Green Bay native and University of Minnesota student Jack Christensen on his ride home for Thanksgiving break.
"Initially, I thought of this bar crawl idea because I know it had huge success on college campuses. You buy a t-shirt or something and then you get to hop to these different places and get a deal at each one," said Christensen
Jack brought the idea to his friend and fellow student Luke Rexing, and after he was on board, they were off and running.
Watch: College students create guide to local businesses for the NFL Draft
"He started door-knocking, stopping at different places in person. We pitched our idea, began to get a few places on board, and kind of became a snowball effect from there."
They now have 32 businesses offering various deals and offers compiled in a booklet for sale on their website. The booklet costs $25 during March and $30 during the weeks in April leading up to the draft.
"Wasn't a super extensive pitch that we needed to be sold on, and it didn't cost us anything, so I didn't see the downside to it," said Zimmerman.
"Our goal is to get more eyes on the building, get more people in the doors, so it was a no-brainer for us."
But the idea didn't stop there. Luke suggested giving some of the profits back. They decided on Curative Connections, a local nonprofit on Green Bay's east side.
"I've got a family tie to it, and I've seen the work that they do for people those with aging, dementia, mental injury, anything like that," said Christensen.
"They do a phenomenal job with their program. [I] knew right away that that's where we wanted to give ten percent of our revenue back to."
Jack says he hopes the MyDraft Experience in Green Bay serves as a template to do something similar with local businesses during other big events, including next year in Pittsburgh for the 2026 NFL Draft.
