MaSa Partners

Max Duckworth is the central investment decision-maker today. He co-founded the firm with Sarah Godlewski, who left day-to-day operations in 2018 to serve as Wisconsin State Treasurer. Duckworth’s background combines executive roles at a Fortune 500 energy company with earlier academic work in particle physics and environmental policy, and he personally guides the firm’s 4P diligence process.

MaSa Partners operates as a principals-led direct-investment practice rather than a typical venture fund. It does not manage external capital, and its website invites co-investors into specific portfolio companies. This structure places MaSa closer to a boutique impact-investment vehicle than to a multi-LP venture firm, with a mandate shaped entirely by the founders' balance sheets and advisory bandwidth.

MaSa exclusively makes direct equity investments and offers hands-on advisory support to early-stage companies. There is no indication in the firm's published materials that it commits capital to third-party funds. Its public call for co-investors suggests an appetite for building deal-level syndicates around its own direct positions.

The firm targets the earliest stages of a company's life — what it calls "early financial and human capital." It works alongside founders to build the "foundations for success," which implies involvement from pre-seed through Series A, though MaSa does not publish a formal stage mandate.

Sourcing runs heavily through the personal networks of Max Duckworth and Sarah Godlewski. Duckworth’s board roles — including his honorary position at Halcyon, a social-entrepreneur incubator — provide direct access to mission-driven founders. The firm also cites collaboration with co-investors and stakeholders as a sourcing channel, but it does not maintain a disclosed institutional origination engine.

The source of MaSa’s capital is not publicly disclosed. The firm states it does not manage external money, which implies the founders are deploying their own balance sheet. The nature and scale of the founders' wealth have not been spelled out in any available source.

MaSa actively welcomes co-investors. Its website invites visitors to "co-invest in our portfolio companies," though the firm does not act as a fund manager. This posture allows external parties to participate alongside MaSa on a deal-by-deal basis, effectively creating an informal syndication model around its early-stage impact positions.