Before his fourth season with the Vikings in 2019, defensive end Stephen Weatherly took part in the test pilot for an internship program the team started to help players build professional networks they could use after their playing days. He met Caribou Coffee CEO John Butcher during his day with the company, as Butcher critiqued the job Weatherly had done pitching the company's new Vikings-themed coffee blend.
Last August, Weatherly hurt his knee while playing for the Browns in preseason, and doctors told him he was one injury away from a knee replacement. The 29-year-old, ever a Renaissance man, took the news as his cue to pursue the business ideas that had been developing in his head for some time.