A self-starter, Creagh now helps the startup scene.

Byline: Nate Beck, nbeck@dailyreporter.com

On its face, sea kayaking doesn't have much in common with Milwaukee's start-up scene.

But for Jay Creagh, who has worked in both, there's more in common than you'd think.

Before law school, Creagh served as the Wilderness Program director for Camp Manito-wish YMCA, where he led intense kayaking and canoeing expeditions. He said he relished helping people achieve their goals and overcome hardships.

Creagh said he's still using those talents as an attorney at Godfrey & Kahn, where he works with venture capital and start-up companies.

"For me, coming from assessing risk where lives are at stake, it was easy for me to apply those skills to the legal business and assessing financial risk, where lives are not at stake," he said.

Creagh's path to working with start-up companies began in law school at the University of Minnesota, where an influential professor taught a course on contract law. Creagh was intrigued by the transactional nature of the work, and was "hooked right away."

After law school, Creagh took a position at Godfrey & Kahn, where he has since worked with start-up companies and venture capital firms in the Milwaukee area. He said his position has brought him in touch with others who are trying to build up the city's startup...